Regrets
by singeivoire
Summary: After twelve years, Kushina returns to Konoha to meet the son that she left behind. Sequel to Promises. AU. Rated for language. FINAL CHAPTER UP!
1. Prologue

DISCLAIMER: I disclaim! Naruto does not belong to me!

This is the sequel to "Promises", if you've not read that yet, you may want to check it out on my profile. This prologue is also the epilogue to that fic.

I swear, this story will not be uninterrupted angst as the title and first chapter would lead you to believe.

For "Regrets" we're going to venture outside the realm of canonical possibilities. This takes place shortly after Orochimaru's attack on Konoha during the Chuunin Exams, while Naruto is off training with Jiraiya.

* * *

PROLOGUE

About a mile from Konoha, Kushina abandoned her run for a more leisurely approach. Dropping to the path in a cloud of dust, she began to look around her. Things had changed. Of course things had changed.

Twelve years. Hell, twelve years - almost thirteen. Did she even dare show her face after that long?

Being bold came naturally to Kushina, but this was a bit much, even for her. She tried to stuff the seeping guilt down under empty mantras and excuses. But _Better late than never _and _It took longer than I expected_ made her taste bile they were so bad.

Twelve - almost thirteen years. That would make him... lord, that would make him nigh unto pubescent. But in her mind she was still holding him in her arms, holding him and telling him she'd be back soon.

Things got messier as she neared the wall. This didn't surprise her as she had heard that there had been an attack on Konoha; that Orochimaru had invaded sometime during the last Chuunin Exam but had been driven from the village. She felt a silly swell of pride at that thought. Of course they had gotten rid of the snake - the ninja of Konoha were tough. She let the thought buoy her as if she too had been there to defend her village, her son.

But yes, things looked bad. There were vast swaths of leveled forest from some sort of battle that had gone on there. She found herself frequently walking through these unnatural clearings - peppered with scorch marks and craters. It was every bit as bad as the forest she had left by twelve years earlier. Maybe no time had passed after all - maybe Naruto would still be that blonde little cherub with Minato's face.

One look at the wall told her otherwise. An enormous chunk of Konoha's outer defense was demolished. Scaffolding stretched across part of the rift, but it looked as though construction was slow-going—the new portion reached perhaps a foot over Kushina's head. That might stop a stray cow, but it wouldn't discourage enemy ninja. Perhaps things were worse than she imagined.

She contemplated just going through the gap in the wall—the construction site looked abandoned enough, and some anonymity would be a blessing. Just report to the Hokage and find out where Naruto is. In and out. Nobody recognizing her along the way.

But no one had ever accused Uzumaki Kushina of being a coward; she would return as she left, through the gate. She touched the forehead protector she wore on her arm, self conscious, fingering the grooves that formed the whirlpool symbol. Taking a deep breath, she passed through the gate. There were a couple of chuunin on guard as usual, but Kushina didn't recognize either one. They looked young—probably academy age when Kushina had been there last—but they had the bored expressions of people who had been doing this job for a while. One of them, a kid with too much hair and a bandage across his nose, looked up at her entrance.

She approached their station, forcing her muscles to stay relaxed, though she desperately wanted to bolt back out of the gate and hide. Not wanting them to think her an enemy, she kept her hands clear of the weapons pouch she had lashed to her thigh. She knew at the slightest wrong move, these guys would be on her - it was their job. It didn't matter that she could probably take them both in a matter of seconds, she didn't want a couple of damaged chuunin to dampen her hypothetical welcome back to the village.

"Name? For the records?" It was the other guy who asked the question - no bandage on this one, but his bangs did seem to be taking over his face (must be the look these days, she mused).

"Uzumaki Kushina."

My my, that look they exchanged was certainly ominous...


	2. ONE

This chapter is crazy long by my standards. Thanks to my beta, waiting4morning. She remains the best at beating off adverbs and western-isms with her wiffle bat of editorial splendor.

Hope you enjoy!

* * *

ONE

"Uzumaki Kushina." She repeated her name for the two guards because they had yet to respond to her. "I need to report to Sandaime as soon as possible."

"S-sarutobi-sama..." The chuunin with the bandage over his nose looked even more stricken than before.

"Sarutobi-sama was killed by Orochimaru," Chuunin Number 2 said quietly, his voice quavering a little.

Kushina blinked a few times, waiting for that reality to register in her mind. The expected wave of grief didn't come, so she moved on.

"So the rumors are true. Who's the new Hokage? I need to make my report." She felt a little cold because of the unconcern in her voice, but she had this planned out and wouldn't be derailed so easily. Make a report, find Naruto. It didn't really matter who that report was to - the goal was finding her son. And then what? That would come to her in time.

The chuunin with the nose bandage, Number 1, seemed a little blindsided by her response too. "A report, you say? Why would you need to report...?"

"I've been on a mission—we're still supposed to report back after missions, right?" Apparently he didn't recognize her at all; that was probably for the best. They had definitely recognized the name though.

"You did say Uzumaki, right?" Number 2, the one with Mutant Bangs, flicked through a clipboard list of names, shaking his head slightly.

"Oh, she definitely said Uzumaki." Nose Bandage was staring at her with a mixture of awe and suspicion.

"You're not on my list..." Mutant Bangs sounded completely unsurprised.

"It was a... long-term mission; they should have info on it at Hokage Tower." Kushina didn't feel like explaining herself just now. "Who's the new Hokage?" She tried the question again, but got the same response - nothing. They just glanced at one another.

"What should we do with her?"

"Take her to Iruka, I guess?"

Who the hell was Iruka? The new kage? Growing impatient, Kushina crossed her arms and decided to let them know what was up. "Listen, I don't need an escort, just put me on the books and I can find my own way to the Tower - I've been there often enough. Unless you moved it in the last thirteen years, I think I'll be okay."

"No, no - I think one of us should take you. I'll go, you stay here Kotetsu." Mutant Bangs, Number 2 stood up at this, foisting his clipboard upon Nose Bandage - Kotetsu, she corrected herself.

"Hey, I'm not going to miss this - should prove interesting." Kotetsu stood now, laughing a little. "You stay here, Izumo, you're the clipboard guy."

Izumo leaned toward Kotetsu and spoke in a whisper that was nonetheless completely audible to Kushina. "I'll fill you in later, just chill, okay?"

Why her appearance should cause drama not-to-be-missed by these two was completely beyond Kushina. She just needed to report on her mission, after all - unless, of course, they had categorized her as a "Missing Nin" during her twelve-year absence. That thought had never occurred to her before, and she didn't like the way it lolled across her mind now. Well, best to get this done soon and preferably without an audience. These two didn't seem to be treating her like a threat, far from it, they were completely ignoring her in favor of dickering with one another.

Shrugging, Kushina turned away and began to walk toward the last known location of Hokage Tower. Once she was about a block away, she heard a shout of alarm from one of the chuunin and heard footfalls catching up with her. Apparently Izumo had won the argument, because it was he that drew up alongside Kushina as they rounded the corner where Ichiraku ramen still stood.

It looked like the shop had a new awning, but the same irresistible smells were wafting out to her. Maybe she'd have to visit there after finding Naruto - she wondered idly if he would like her old favorite restaurant. An unfamiliar girl was serving the two customers on the stools out front, but she could see a well-known grey head bent over the soup pots.

"Oi, Teuchi-niisan!" The head shot up at her shout. She waved at the noodle-maker, who was considerably more wrinkled than the last time Kushina had seen him. She flashed him a patented Uzumaki grin. The look on his face was beyond shocked. She had to keep walking to keep with her chuunin escort, but as she walked out of sight of the ramen stand, she heard a large clang and _sploosh_ as if Teuchi had dropped whatever he was carrying. Dang.

Kushina grimaced and addressed Izumo, "Whoops - guess that wasn't the best idea ever." Izumo's eyes were wide and he let out a nervous little laugh that Kushina took to mean "you may be certifiably insane, I haven't decided yet." Oh well, Kushina could handle that.

The streets were painfully familiar, growing ever more so as she approached the building that had once been her home - her home with Minato. That too seemed to clang around in her head eliciting very little response. She tucked it away with the news about Sarutobi - to be dealt with at a later date. One thing at a time.

Aside from a slight jab at the sight of her almost-husband's face on the mountain, she made it to the tower with her psyche in tact. _Good job, Kushina, keep it up!_ It helped that the interior of the building was painted a sedate off-white. Everything had been blue while Minato had been there.

Izumo took her past the Hokage's main office. So this Iruka wasn't Hokage after all—perhaps someone who was handling mission assignments temporarily? She had noticed there were still only four faces on the cliff, watching over the village - maybe the position was still unfilled? That didn't bode well.

She ended up in the assignments room. The table which normally held a full panel of people who gave out ninja assignments was almost empty. One man, a chuunin at least judging by his uniform, was sitting to one side of the Hokage's chair which dominated the dais. He had a pony-tail and a cute little scar across his nose. Kushina judged him to be early twenties - just a kid really. He seemed to have been caught in a cloudburst of paperwork because files and forms littered the table.

Iruka glanced up at her entrance and the expression on his face left no room for doubt. Here was one person who recognized her. First the kid just looked harried and overworked, but upon seeing her, a vague confusion soon gave way to recognition then disbelief.

"You!" It almost sounded like an accusation. Iruka shot out of his chair, then looked a little abashed. "Wait - who are you?"

Izumo had a sly grin on his face as he answered. "Uzumaki Kushina - she wants to report back in from a mission."

Iruka blinked rapidly for a moment as if trying to banish troublesome images from the corners of his eyes. "Uzumaki... you--" He paused to swallow. "You're Naruto's... mother." It wasn't a question, but Kushina answered anyway.

"Yes, I suppose I am." She tried to give him a grin, but felt it fall flat. Izumo was giving her a "ha! I caught you!" sort of look that made her want to shout at him, but Iruka's face was inscrutable.

"Izumo, thanks for bringing her by; you can go back to your post." Iruka nodded toward his fellow chuunin.

"Oh, hai, taichou; right away, taichou." Izumo's voice was toxic with fond sarcasm as he popped Iruka a goofy little salute.

"Will ya get outta here, ya dingbat?"

"Oh, come on Iruka-kun!"

Iruka gave him a warning glare in response, and Izumo conceded with a shrug and exited, hands in pockets.

"Sorry about that…" Iruka absently straightened papers on the table for a moment after Izumo left the room. "You said you need to report the results of a mission... Kushina-san?" He seemed unsure of how to address her.

"Yes, that's right. I figure there's paperwork to fill out or something, right?"

"Well, it's not here with the regular mission files, so why don't you follow me to the records room?" Iruka's tone was painfully businesslike—it made Kushina squirm ever so slightly. She didn't feel intimidated, but she did feel disapproved of.

"Sure, yeah, sounds good. I'd like to get it all out of the way sooner rather than later." She followed him out of the room, running her mouth a little to dispel the awkward twittering in her gut.

"Are you wanting to get on the road again, soon?" His question was loaded, and it rankled.

"Actually, I'm looking forward to seeing my son." She couldn't keep the defensive note out of her voice.

"Of course. He's a good kid, you know, Naruto is." Iruka's jaw was set, and his tone was almost defiant.

"Oh?" Kushina let Iruka lead the way into the records room, holding the silence, unsure if she should bite her tongue or speak her mind. She decided to go for the middle ground, "You sound pretty sure about that."

"I teach at the Academy. Naruto was in my class."

"Oh - really?" Kushina could hear the desperate interest in her voice. Sure this kid seemed to have a stick up his butt about something, but he had information. Information on her son. Questions started tumbling out of her before she had a chance to think through them. "Is he okay? What's he like? When did he graduate? Does he still look like his dad? Were they able to keep the Kyuubi at bay? Is he happy?" She clamped her mouth shut and spared Iruka a glance. He was looking up at her from a filing cabinet, a look of bald surprise on his face.

"Heh - which of those do you want me to answer first, Kushina-san?" The chuckle at the beginning of his response was encouraging.

"Whichever - any."

"Well, he graduated last year. Last I saw him, he was eating as enthusiastically as ever, if that's any indication of health. He's... happier than he used to be these days. He's - we'll he's a hyperactive knucklehead - but he's a good kid. And yes, he looks more and more like Yondaime every time I see him. He's on a team under Hatake Kakashi - they get a lot of assignments..." His voice trailed off, and he glanced at her again, frowning. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm..." Her own voice sounded pinched in her ears. Absently, she brushed at her cheek with her fingertips and was surprised to find tears there. She scrubbed at her eyes with the heel of her palm and swallowed down the catch in her voice. "Yes, I'm fine. Sorry, you were saying?"

"I don't remember - what other questions did you have?"

"Heh, I don't remember either... I just want to know everything. It's been a long time…. You said he's on a team under Kakashi-kun?" She laughed a little and shook her head at the way things come full circle. She remembered when Kakashi had been twelve years old and on a team under Minato.

"Yeah - though Kakashi-san is in the hospital currently." Iruka returned his attention to the files, and flipped through a few. "Here we go..." He pulled a manila folder from the back of the drawer and stood up, handing it to her. "You'll need to sign it and write up a full report on the... mission. Why it took so long and everything."

Ouch. She ignored the comment. "Can I write it up later? I'd like to see Naruto as soon as possible."

"Well, yes, but Naruto isn't in Konoha right now. He's on a mission."

"But I thought that Kakashi was in the hospital - what kind of mission is it?" She stuffed her concern over little Kakashi and her disappointment over Naruto's absence into the numb corner of her mind along with Sandaime and Minato. Maybe he'd be back in a day or so - after all, he's probably still a genin, it doesn't take long to paint a house or catch a cat.

"I don't have the details; I just know he's been gone for a month or so - it's something that came down from the council." There was some sympathy in his voice but not much. "If you don't mind me asking, where have you been all these years, Kushina-san?" This last seemed to pour out of him unbidden, and he flushed a little. "I mean, your son could have used some parents along the way. It's been hard on him being all alone like that…."

_... all alone like that..._

So that was Iruka's problem, he felt that she had been an irresponsible parent. She felt her hackles rising - a swift tingling that swept up her neck behind her ears and settled into her temples. She pursed her lips and clutched the folder like a shield.

"It was better than taking him with me all around the known universe on a crazy hunt for Whirlpool ninja. At least he had a village here to support him and love him – here they have his father's face on a mountain, for pete's sake! I couldn't have done better than that, even if I had stayed."

Iruka was shaking his head; the action slow and ominous.

"What?" Kushina frowned.

"It didn't work out that way Kushina-san."

"How do you mean?"

"Naruto hasn't had it easy these past years. He's a container for the _Kyuubi_ - people aren't okay with that." His voice was patient, but it had a "you idiot" undertone to it. Kushina felt the floor begin to tilt under her feet. "He graduated from the Academy, sure, but he had the lowest grades in his class. He's struggled for a lot of years now, and he's come a long way, but he could have done so much better with some sort of knowledge of his parents..."

"But Minato..." Kushina gestured lamely at the ceiling - perhaps meaning to indicate Hokage Tower, perhaps the mountain behind it.

"He doesn't even know who his parents are, Kushina-san."

"Oh, hell..."

Breathing became difficult - like a whole team of heavy combat ninja were sitting on her chest. Like the air around her had suddenly become water, and she was the only one without gills. She dropped the folder she still held and placed her hands on her knees, leaning up against the filing cabinets behind her.

"Kushina-san, are you alright?"

_Breathe, just breathe. Tuck this away - under Minato, and Sandaime, and little Kakashi in the hospital, and this Iruka guy's disapproval, just put Naruto there - his unhappiness, his loneliness - tuck it away..._

Shit, it was too much. The numb corner of her brain wasn't big enough for her son. It wasn't big enough for her failure.

She couldn't do it, it all came spilling out - a torrential wave of guilt.

_He doesn't even know who his parents are._

She slid to the floor, the file cabinet's handles ratcheting against her spine on the way down. Every expletive she knew came out in a hiss on her thin breath. There weren't enough words or enough air.


	3. TWO

Wheeeee! Chapter two!

Thanks so much for all the reviews (and favs, and C2 adds, and alerts)! Seriously – they keep me motivated.

Enjoy!

* * *

TWO

Sakura arrived at the hospital later than usual that day. Her mother had insisted that she stay with the family for lunch rather than just taking a bento with her and eating off her knees in the chair in Sasuke-kun's room. Sometimes, for the sake of variety, she would eat off her knees in Lee-san's room instead. At least Lee could talk to her – play board games with her sometimes. Once or twice, he even let her stay in the room while medical ninja came in to treat him. It was horrifying but fascinating to watch the green chakra surge from their fingertips and dally around Lee's arm and leg.

The two flowers Sakura clutched in her hand were a calming butter color. Ino had helped her pick them out as usual but couldn't come to the hospital today. Sakura felt a giddy pleasure. She would have Saskue-kun all to herself today.

Upon entering the hospital she was distracted from her internal gloating by a ruckus at the nurse's station. A woman Sakura didn't recognize seemed to be arguing with the head nurse. She had the longest red hair Sakura had ever seen, and when she shook her head back and forth, it danced and swung around the backs of her legs in a way that would drive any kitten (or any man, Sakura supposed) absolutely crazy. It almost made Sakura wish she still had her own long hair – almost.

"What do you want from me? Should I have brought a note or something from the Village Council? I can go back to Koharu-sama and get one if you want!"

Geez, the woman was _loud_. As Sakura walked closer, she saw a forehead protector strapped to the redhead's arm. A kunoichi then, but not one from Konoha, judging by the swirl engraved on the metal plate.

"O-san, that is not the problem." The corpulent battleaxe of a nurse who was on the receiving end of the tirade was losing her patience too. She crossed her arms across her chest in a good impression of a brick wall. "The fact remains that the patient is simply not in any condition to receive visitors."

"Oh, come _on_ now," the kunoichi changed tactics, wheedling now, "help a sister out! I just want to see an old friend. I promise I won't do anything to distract him from the business of healing. He'll be glad to see me, I swear!"

"Hatake-san is unresponsive at the moment. He wouldn't even know you're there."

"Well, then I certainly wouldn't be disturbing him by visiting, now would I?"

_Hatake-san? Is this woman trying to visit sensei?_ Sakura couldn't puzzle out what the problem was; she had visited Kakashi-sensei herself a few times over the last month. Granted, they never let her stay there long, but unless they had changed policy lately, the visit _should_ be allowed. Of course, there was always the chance that the nurse didn't want to be bothered with walking a new visitor down to sensei's room. Sakura felt a tick of anger stir. If this weird redheaded lady wanted to visit Kakashi, why the heck shouldn't she be allowed to?

Sakura cleared her throat and butted into the conversation, feeling rather rebellious. "_I _was hoping to visit Kakashi-sensei today – is that still okay, or is no one allowed to see him?" She glanced at the strange woman, making knowing eye contact for a split second.

The woman's eyes narrowed and then crinkled at the corners. She turned back to the brick wall in scrubs. "Hey! I thought you said he wasn't allowed any visitors! How come she's allowed to see Kakashi-kun, but I'm not?"

The red-haired woman's petulant outrage was so goofy Sakura had to bite her lip to keep from giggling. Instead she schooled her features – _look concerned, just look angelic and concerned…_

The nurse sputtered a little but nodded to Sakura in greeting. "Sakura-san." She shifted her arms from across her chest to her hips and turned back to the kunoichi. "We're stretched thin these days; we don't just have scads of nurses just sitting around who can be spared escort a stranger around the hospital for a day." The subtext was clear: _You're not from around here, and you can't be trusted. _

"Come on, lady, I'm having a really shitty day here, just work with me! If I wanted to kill the kid, I would just sneak into the hospital through a window and do it." The redhead glanced around for support, spotted Sakura, and hooked her in to a single-arm hug, sweeping her closer to the nurse's desk. The flowers got a little crushed in the awkward embrace, but Sakura was too surprised and squished to notice. "Sakura, right? Sakura-san here can show me to Kakashi-kun's room and keep an eye on me. She seems like a capable sort of person, and she's going that way anyhow!"

"Y-yeah, I guess I could do that." Sakura had to gasp a little to get the words out.

The nurse eyed them both, suspicious. Sakura pasted on an obedient grin and glanced up at the stranger, who was still hugging her. The woman had a cheesy grin on her face. Sakura once again tried not to giggle.

"Hmph – I guess that would be all right. But no staying for longer than a few minutes, and make sure you sign out before you leave the hospital." The nurse's mouth gave a wry twist that may have been disapproval or amusement. "None of that sneaking through windows nonsense."

"Thank you _so much_!" Without any hesitation, the kunoichi tugged Sakura around and proceeded down the hall before the nurse could change her mind. They turned away so quickly, Sakura got a face full of red hair. It smelled a little like cherries, cherries and the ocean. She wondered what kind of shampoo the woman used—Sakura was still having trouble finding a new brand she liked after Kakashi-sensei's nin-dog, Pakkun, informed her that they used the same shampoo.

Sakura scrambled to keep up with the woman, until they entered a new hallway and the nurse's station was no longer in sight. At that point, the kunoichi slowed her pace a little and looked over her shoulder to flash Sakura a brilliant smile. The grin looked oddly familiar and comforting.

"Thanks for helping me back there! I didn't think that she was gonna let me through. I'm Kushina, by the way."

"I'm pleased to meet you, Kushina-san." Unsure of the decorum of introductions with someone who has just given you a hug and no family name, Sakura gave a polite, but tentative bow. At this the woman let out a laugh that ricocheted off the sterile walls of the corridor. The laugh, too, was homey and familiar.

"Glad to meet you too, Sakura-san. Now, where are they hiding that brat, Kakashi?"

"Er, well, Kakashi-sensei should be in C Wing – it's this way." Sakura turned down another dull corridor, leading the way this time.

"So, you are on Kakashi-kun's squad?" Sakura could hear intense interest in Kushina's voice.

"Yep, I'm on Team 7. Well, usually I am." Things were a little more complicated with two of four team members in the hospital, and one more off god-knew-where doing god-knew-what. Sakura felt a familiar twinge of uselessness.

"How long have you been on the team?"

"Oh, I graduated from the academy about a year ago. We were put together then."

"I see, so – do you like your teammates?"

Sakura glanced up at her odd companion. The redhead was looking at her intently with enormous blue eyes. She tried to guess the woman's age and found it difficult. She bore a few faint wrinkles, but her frank prettiness and kid-like energy made it hard to pin down a number.

Sakura blushed a little in response to the question. "Oh, yes! I'm on a team with Uchiha Sasuke – he's the most gifted graduate in our class – so cool and _so_ cute. He's the real reason I'm visiting the hospital today.

"Tch, the Uchiha – most of them are hoity-toity, ham-fisted bluebloods…"

Sakura stopped dead in her tracks, squeezing the poor flowers in her fist. "Wh – Hey, whaddaya… _ham-fisted?!_" Sakura had never felt such an urge to attack an adult in her life.

Apparently Kushina noticed the danger, because she held out her hands in surrender as soon as she glanced back at Sakura's face. "Hey-hey, no offense – I'm just speaking of the clan as a whole – for all I know, your boyfriend's one of the good ones. Most of them just take themselves too seriously."

Sakura felt her rage dissipate in a wave of shock as they resumed their walk. Could this woman not know about the Uchiha massacre?

"Kushina-san… Sasuke-kun is the only Uchiha left."

That statement made the woman pause for a moment. She took a deep breath and let it out in a long, profane hiss: "_Shhhhhhhhhiiiit_. I guess that means the rumors were true after all." She shook her head so her hair danced around her knees again. "That means Mikoto-chan and all of them…" The glee was gone out of the kunoichi's voice. "Is it true that Uchiha Itachi killed everyone – I mean, _everyone_?"

"Everyone but Sasuke, his brother."

Kushina swore again. They walked for a while in silence until the redhead seemed to be doing some furious reminiscing. Sakura wondered how long the woman had been absent from the village. It must have been a good long while….

With another toss of salty, cherry hair, the woman startled herself out of her reverie. "So, what about your other teammate – they're still putting you genin on teams of three, right? So, there would be one more, right?"

"Oh, Naruto?" Sakura gave a dismissive wave of her hand. "He's a bit of an idiot. Annoying too." Sakura mused on the nature of her hyperactive blonde teammate. He _had_ been the one to save her from that freaky sand ninja during the attack on Konoha last month…. Sakura amended her statement a little. "He's not so bad though – he's pretty funny sometimes, when he's not being stupid. And he's gotten really strong these past few months."

Sakura's musings were interrupted by a snicker from Kushina. Sakura glanced up at her new companion to find that the woman was almost weeping with silent mirth.

"Wha – are you okay, Kushina-san?"

"Heh – oh yes, just peachy."

Sakura eyed her with suspicion. "Well, anyway, this is it." They had finally reached Kakashi-sensei's room.

Kushina's chuckles stopped. She stepped in ahead of Sakura. Pushing the door aside, the kunoichi entered the room, took one look at the bed, and froze so quickly that Sakura actually ran into her backside. Kushina didn't seem to notice.

"Is something wrong, Kushina-san?" Sakura edged around the sudden roadblock and into the room, checking to see what the problem was. Everything appeared to be normal – though Kakashi-sensei did look uncharacteristically weak, unconscious in the hospital bed. Looking back at Kushina, Sakura was floored by the anguished look on the woman's face. Her brows were knitted and that wide mouth that seemed to laugh so easily was gaping. Sakura was taken by the sudden realization that this woman could be more than just an "old friend" of her teacher's. After all, Kushina couldn't be _that_ much older than Kakashi – it was hard to tell her sensei's age too, when it came down to it.

The romantic storylines Sakura began to concoct in her head, full of forbidden passions which spanned nations and decades, were shattered when the redhead opened her mouth.

"Damn, he got _big_ when I wasn't looking."

"A-ano, what do you mean, Kushina-san?"

"Well, he was only about this tall last time I saw him." Kushina held her hand out to about shoulder height.

Okay, so not a former love interest after all.

The redhead swept further into the room and took the seat next to the hospital bed, fondly roughing Kakashi's silver mop of hair which was sticking up over the sheets. "Shit, he looks pretty bad – is he always like this?"

"Well, yes – the doctors don't know what to do for him."

"Tch – buncha amateurs. Where's Rin? She's usually good for figuring out solutions for sticky medical problems. Why isn't she on his case?"

"Wh-who?" Sakura had never heard that name in her life.

"Rin, y'know, Rin! She's – well, she's about his age." Kushina indicated the comatose sensei. "She's got purple stripes on her cheeks – brownish hair – a bit of mother-hen sort of attitude?"

Sakura shook her head. The description wasn't ringing any bells. At that, Kushina deflated a little, slumping in the chair and resting her face in her hands for a second. The woman that emerged from behind the fingers was a little graver and considerably more concerned.

"Man, is there _anyone_ I knew that's not dead, injured, or out of town?" Kushina let out a humorless chuckle. "Don't answer that…"

Sakura wasn't about to answer the woman's hypothetical question. She was too caught up in the distressing realization that Kushina seemed _very_ familiar, not just her laugh and her smile, but her attitude. Kushina was likable – she gave off a comforting, friendly aura that Sakura couldn't quite place, but she enjoyed. It was like coming home. She wondered if she had met this woman at some point—perhaps on a mission? Perhaps during the chuunin exams? None of those felt quite right. Sakura put these musings on the backburner of her mind.

Kushina turned a sly grin on Sakura. "So, have you managed to see Kakashi-kun's face yet?"

Sakura gaped at the older woman. "You… you've seen him, without his mask?" The last was in an exaggerated whisper, though the nurses had assured her that both Kakashi and Sasuke couldn't process any sounds they heard.

Kushina's grin widened. "Oh yeah, though it took _ages_. It was months after he joined Min—" She trailed off, biting her lip and suddenly looking pensive. It didn't look like the woman had any intention of finishing her sentence, so the two females coexisted in silent musings for a short time. Sakura was on the verge of telling Kushina that she was going to deliver her flowers, that she'd be right back, when a shrill holler came bouncing down the halls toward Kakashi's room.

"Come _on_, Granny, it's not time for drinking yet! You promised you would help everyone!"

"Calm down, will you? I'm coming – give a girl a break."

"Eh, you're not a girl!"

"Shaddup, brat."

An orange torpedo charged into the room – totally intent on his task. Naruto was back, and Sakura held back the urge to laugh with relief and amusement at his characteristic entrance. A gorgeous blonde woman scuffed in after him, looking put-out.

"Sakura-chan! I was wondering why you weren't in Sasuke's room. He's okay, Granny Tsunade fixed him up!" Naruto flashed her one of his wide, cheesy grins.

_He's okay_. Sakura nearly screamed and melted at those words. Without sparing Kakashi-sensei, this "Granny" Tsunade, or that strange Kushina woman another thought, Sakura made a move toward the door when she heard a resounding clatter from behind her. Sakura turned around to see that the redhead had shot to her feet, knocking her chair over in the process. Her eyes, which were large to begin with, seemed about to take over her whole face, and her hands were visibly shaking. Sakura followed Kushina's shocked gaze to where it rested.

She was staring at Naruto. Something in Sakura's brain began to whirr into place.

"Hey, lady! What's your problem? Who are you, and why are you staring at me like that? It's freaking me out!" Naruto was pointing an accusing finger at the redhead. With his usual lack of delicacy, he had just summed up all the questions that were rattling around in Sakura's mind searching for purchase in a logical pattern.

Kushina now had the blonde newcomer's attention too. "Kushina-san? I thought you were dead!" The woman that Naruto had called "Granny" looked fairly taken-aback herself.

Kushina didn't answer; she glanced at the blonde and back at Naruto, apparently having trouble processing a few things.

"Hey, you know her?" Naruto swung his attention back to Tsunade. "What the hell's going on here? And why is she in Kakashi-sensei's room?"

Tsunade licked her lips and raised an eyebrow. "Naruto, this is Uzumaki Kushina, your mother."


	4. THREE

Man, these chapters keep getting longer and longer (by my standards). It's like each chapter keeps mutating as I write it. My beta (the grammar goddess, waiting4morning) tells me I'm maturing as a writer. I tell her that she is full of crap. Either way, you folks get longer chapters, so I guess it works out!

Thanks for all the reviews, etc. Enjoy!

* * *

THREE

The first thought that went through Naruto's head simply came out his mouth. Because that's what Naruto did - he said what he thought, like there was a leak somewhere between his brain and his tongue. Unfiltered opinions were always bursting out at inopportune times. Like this one.

"B-but, I don't have parents!"

Well, yes, Naruto knew that was silly. He knew he hadn't leapt fully formed from the imagination of Yondaime: add a little ambition, a dash of hyperactivity, fill to the brim with demon chakra - presto! Uzumaki Naruto! But he had assumed he was just another war orphan. The village was chock full of them. In his graduating class, it was the kids who still _had_ both parents who were the oddballs. Shikamaru, Ino, Chouji, Sakura... yep that was it. Even Hinata, though she had a whole clan's-worth of family, still only had one parent.

And Naruto - well, he didn't have any. Not even a tragic rumor of one. Whoever his folks had been, they weren't even important enough to remember. They didn't exist, so whoever this redheaded woman standing in front of him was—the one Granny Tsunade had called Kushina-san—she couldn't be his mother.

No one was talking in the room, though. No one batted down his outburst, accused him of rudeness or stupidity. That was unusual considering Sakura-chan's presence. So his mind switched gears, and the next thought spilled out of his mouth too.

"Hey, you're all messing with me, aren't you?" He swung back around to face Granny Tsunade, pointing at her now. _Geez, this woman. She drinks and gambles, she pretends to be young when she's not, and she tells terrible jokes - mean jokes - lies._

Naruto reeled around to point the finger at the rest of them. Kakashi was still unconscious. The not-mother was still staring, but at least her mouth was closed now, she seemed to be deciding something. Sakura kept glancing from the redhead to Naruto, a look of stunned realization on her face. And Tsunade - well, she wasn't even blinking - gave no sign of deception. None whatsoever. He looked back at the redhead, who was now smiling - a sheepish, terrified, but genuine smile.

And so, the third thought came to his mind, but this one he caught behind his teeth.

_Shit, that's my smile._

Not that Naruto spent time smiling at himself in the mirror, but still there was a sort of recognition there. A recognition he sensed rather than saw. A recognition that was currently tugging at the proverbial rug under his feet. He'd felt that same shit-eating grin on his own face before.

"M-mom?"

He felt like running away, or weeping, or shouting, or mauling the woman with hugs, or just plain mauling the woman, but all that came out of his mouth was: "mom." That leak in his brain was stopped up with the enormity of that one word. The thoughts began to back up in his mind - they seemed to be trickling out his tear ducts. He stared at the woman, and she stared back at him. The smile was gone, the shock was back, but more controlled this time.

"Hiya, Naruto." Her voice was gentle and sweet-sounding, if a little cracked from some emotion that Naruto couldn't name. Hell, he couldn't even name his own emotions.

His eyes were beginning to burn, and he felt suddenly shaky and weak. His hand, still in a fist with finger pointing, was quivering at his side, accusing the floor. Naruto felt a welling rage charge up his weakened spine and course through his vibrating limbs. The next words came not from his head - that organ was still plugged with that incomprehensible block of a word. They came instead from his soul - from his raging heart.

"WHAT THE HELL, MOM? WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL THIS TIME!"

"Uh, I..." Kushina didn't seem to know what to do with that question.

"AREN'T MOMS SUPPOSED TO STICK WITH THEIR KIDS? WHAT THE HECK WERE YOU DOING?"

"Naruto, come on - this isn't exactly the place for this..."

"AND HERE YOU ARE WITH KAKASHI-SENSEI AND SAKURA-CHAN? DOES _EVERYONE_ KNOW ABOUT YOU BUT ME?"

"Shhh, quiet, you moron. Chill and we can talk about it!" As she let loose the unthinking barb, she circled the bed, closing on Naruto in an instant. Before he knew what was happening, Kushina had grabbed his head and shoved it into her midsection in a sort of half hug. Her other arm she closed around his shoulders to complete the embrace. He felt smothered. He felt angry. He felt... warm.

"Hey, lady, let go of my head!" He knew his voice was cracking along with his bravado. The front of this woman's uniform was damp, and one sane morsel of his mind knew that was because she was getting wet from his tears and snot.

"Shh, come on, let's get out of this room." With that, she released his bucking head but kept an arm around his shoulders to guide him out of the hospital room. On the way out, much to Naruto's surprise, Kushina's free arm shot out and smacked Tsunade upside the head. The move was deft and incredibly quick. Tsunade let out a little "ow!" of surprise.

"Baka! You really could have waited a minute for me to tell him myself."

"He-hey!" Tsunade sounded like she couldn't decide whether to be indignant, defensive, or apologetic.

"Oh, go deal with Kakashi-kun, we'll catch up later." Kushina was grinning again, this time at Tsunade, and Naruto once again felt that rug-tugging recognition that made him want to put his head between his knees before he passed out.

Kushina swept him the rest of the way out of the room and released him once they were alone in the hall. She eyed him as if she thought he might bolt, but he stood his ground. Uzumaki Naruto didn't run away from a fight. Instead he crossed the hall and turned to face her. He rested his back against the wall, as it still seemed unstable and prone to sudden liquefaction, and he crossed his arms and stared at her.

She stared back. Shaking her head a little, she gingerly slid down to the floor, her long legs steepled in front of her, back resting on the wall opposite Naruto. She gestured for Naruto to follow suit. He did, crossing his legs underneath him and keeping his back as stiff as he could manage. He clenched his hands in his armpits so they would stop shaking.

"Heh - you do look just like him..." Kushina said this almost to herself. Naruto glanced at the hands in her lap - they were shaking and white, like his. The redhead cleared her throat and leaned forward. "I'm Uzumaki Kushina, of the former Country of Whirlpools." She popped him a little wave. He didn't respond. "...I'm your mom..."

"Yeah, so I heard." She didn't deserve a real answer to that, so he wasn't going to give her one.

"Er - well..." She didn't avert her eyes from his face, even though he knew she felt awkward. "You had some questions that deserve some answers, I guess."

Understatement of the decade.

"So, well - I guess you want to know where I've been all this time." She still didn't tear her eyes away from him - it was beginning to get disconcerting.

"Yeah, for a start." He didn't really have much control over that bitter note in his voice. Also, dammit, the emotional cracking sound was still there.

"Well, I screwed up, Naruto, I was supposed to come back sooner - years sooner. I was gone on an extended mission, I guess you could say, looking for --"

The door to Kakashi's room opened up, and Sakura exited, glancing between both of them with ill-concealed curiosity. "Um, don't mind me, I just need to go... I - I'm just going to go off and see Sasuke-kun. K-Kushina-san, Naruto." She picked her way around Kushina's legs and went off down the hall. Naruto watched her go with a little jealous ache under all the other layers of confused emotion. She was off to go hold Sasuke's hand - of course she was. If Sasuke would let her hold his hand, anyway.

Meanwhile, Naruto's hands wouldn't stop shaking. He clasped them in his lap and looked back at the redhead - his mother.

She was still staring at him but differently now. One corner of her mouth turned up, and she spoke again. "She's cute - that teammate of yours. Smart too, ne? She helped me get in to see Kakashi-kun."

"Yeah, Sakura-chan is... h-hey - no changing the subject now!" Naruto scowled. "Where were you this whole time?"

"Okay, okay." Kushina hefted a large sigh. "Well, y'see, I'm the last person left from my family. The last Uzumaki, I guess, until you came along. A long time ago, we were attacked by..." Her eyes darted around Naruto's face and glanced down to his stomach. "... well, we were attacked - wiped out. I got away because I wasn't in the village at the time. I swore back then - I was maybe seven at the time - that I would find any survivors one day. That's where I've been - looking for survivors."

"Bu- hey - wait. That doesn't make sense. You can't have been looking since you were seven, you're old! Where did I come from, then?"

"Heh, I would have thought you were old enough to know how that sort of thing works." Kushina let out a wry chuckle.

"Hey, don't be a pervert, you know what I mean!" Naruto felt heat rising in his face.

"Tch, well then don't call me old!" Kushina folded up her arms, looking sullen. "And I'm not a pervert - you just set yourself up for it."

"But what about --" Naruto was interrupted by the sound of urgent footfalls coming from down the hall. Maito Gai came tearing around the corner of the hallway, resplendent in green lycra and orange legwarmers. He came up to them and paused, doubled over and gulping for air, hands on knees.

"G-Gai-sensei!" Naruto thought the teacher looked positively distraught.

"I-Is Tsunade-sama in there?" Gai raised a finger and pointed toward the hospital room which still housed Kakashi-sensei.

"Yep." It was Kushina who answered, smiling. Gai took no notice of her but ran to the door and wrenched it open to access the healer and his Eternal Rival.

With his footfalls and the slammed door still echoing off the corridors, Kushina looked back at Naruto. "So, er, what were you saying?"

"Eh? I'm not sure..."

"Ah, wait, you called me a pervert!" Kushina's eyes flared, and she leaned forward again. "I was going to say --"

"Coming through!" Gai-sensei burst out of the hospital room again and was halfway down the hall before Kushina had time to move her legs out of the way. He was followed by a reluctant-looking Tsunade.

"Seriously, Kakashi! No more getting beat up by upstart little punks. You're supposed to be a genius, remember? So use your brain!" Tsunade sent her scolds back into the room as she sidled through the door to follow Gai.

"Tsunade-sama! Hurry! You must come heal my Lee-kun!" Gai was weeping with anxiety and did an anxious little dance while waiting for her to catch up, as if he was trying not to lose momentum.

"Okay, okay. I'm coming! Just hold on a second." Tsunade growled a little as she closed the door. Before following Gai, she paused by the pair of Uzumakis. "Kushina-san, come by my office later on today, we have some things to discuss." She glanced down the hall and then at a clock on the wall. "On second thought, make that tomorrow some time."

"Hai. I'll be there." Kushina nodded obediently as if she hadn't smacked Godaime in the head just a few minutes earlier.

As soon as they were out of sight, Naruto brought his attention back to this woman who claimed to be his mother. She was once again looking at him.

"Will you quit staring at me all the time, it's weird!" Naruto huffed a little and scratched the end of his nose. How long was it supposed to take to get a story out of someone?

"Sorry, Naruto - I just..." Kushina took a deep breath and looked down at her hands. "Anyway, where was I?"

"You were going to tell me what happened after you were seven - when I came into the picture and that sort of thing."

"Oh, heh - yeah." A fond smile peeked out of the corners of Kushina's mouth. "Well, I ended up in Konoha - stayed here to get trained up and that kind of thing. Just until I was strong enough to graduate - and skilled enough to do what I had sworn I would do." She glanced up at Naruto again, and her expression was pleading for forgiveness. "I didn't want to leave you here. I - well, I meant to come back. I promised your dad I would come back - that we would be a family. And then, well, he died and it wasn't safe to just take you with me because he'd sealed Kyuubi inside you and I didn't..." She looked down at her hands again. "Well, I didn't want to go back on my word, and I didn't want to put you in danger." Kushina scrubbed at her face with her hands and looked down the hall. "I screwed up, didn't I?"

"Royally." Naruto wasn't sure there were any words to express how badly she had screwed up. Sure he understood the need to keep promises, but if a promise had waited since she was seven, surely it could have waited a little longer. It wouldn't have been so bad if she had actually left him with someone... _Wait - she said something about my dad, something about my dad and something about the Kyuubi..._

He-hey! Wait! what were you saying about..." But his frantic questioning was cut off by a small contingent of nurses trooping down the hall.

"Tch - maybe this isn't the best place to talk..." Kushina muttered as the squad in scrubs neared them.

About half the nurses filed into the room, and the other half went down the hallway in the direction Gai and Tsunade had gone earlier. One exceptionally fat nurse gave Kushina a dirty look when she scrambled to her feet to allow the brigade to pass. Naruto followed suit, getting to his feet. He didn't want the redhead to escape without answering a few more questions to his satisfaction. Kushina crossed the hall toward him and leaned down to mutter in his ear.

"Whattaya say we get out of here, kid? I'm getting hungry - let's talk over food." She straightened up and gestured toward the room that the nurses had just infiltrated. "Do you want to check and see how your sensei is before we go?"

Food sounded good, but it would probably be best to check on Kakashi-sensei first. "Uh, yeah, let me just say hi."

Both Uzumakis came to the still-open doorway and peeked in. Kakashi looked very much worse for wear, but at least he was conscious. A number of nurses were fluttering around checking his monitors and gazing at him in concern and wonder. He was leaning forward in bed and gave a feeble wave when he saw Naruto in the doorway. His one open eye then travelled up to where Kushina was hovering over Naruto's head and proceeded to get very big indeed. Naruto glanced up to see Kushina - his mother - waving vigorously at Kakashi and shooting him that grin again.

"K-Kushina-san!"

"Kakashi-kun! I'll come by and see you later - you appear to be surrounded by admirers for the time being." Kushina let out a low, amused chuckle and placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto jumped a little at her touch and felt the urge to shake her off war with the urge to reach up and grab her hand. Instead, he just allowed himself to be led away, waving to Kakashi again as he was pulled into the hall.

Once they were out in the hall again, Kushina released his shoulder and smiled down at him. "Okay, kid - I want to answer all your questions, and I want to ask a few myself. I have a restaurant in mind - my treat. You ever go to Ichiraku Ramen?"

Naruto couldn't help it, he grinned at her. "Way ahead of you, lady."

* * *

She did answer his questions – didn't dodge any of them. He heard stories about how she had chased rumors of survivors around the island nations for over a decade. Tea Country, Wave Country, O'Uzu Island: she had gone over all of them with a fine tooth comb. And just when she was ready to give up the search, another lead would surface. Finally, her searches got her embroiled in some sort of political conflict in Water Country which had sucked up the last year and a half. She spared him the technical details, but Naruto got the impression Kushina had some opinions about the leadership and culture of the Village Hidden in the Mist.

And she seemed to get as much information out of him in turn. Naruto didn't really want to be all chummy with this woman, but she kept asking questions! He ended up telling her about the Chuunin Exams, his missions – both massive and mundane, his teammates and sensei, his ambition to become Hokage (she had laughed at that, though not in a mean way), and his favorite kinds of ramen.

As they sat at the ramen stand, downing noodles and discussing Kushina's failure as a parent, Naruto found it difficult to be pleased with the day's turn of events. At the same time, he found it difficult to be too angry at the woman who had volunteered to buy him ramen and was now keeping pace with him – bowl for bowl.

And, watching her, the anger kept giving way to wonder. _I have a mother – how weird is that? _Watching her chat with old Teuchi-san as if they were old friends brought another shock. _**Everyone**__ knows this woman! People have known about her all along and never told me. Teuchi-san, Kakashi-sensei, apparently Granny Tsunade – maybe others as well. They all knew and said __**nothing**__. Surely they should have told me something…_

Once Teuchi had gone back to his noodle pots, Kushina turned to Naruto, one hand on her protruding gut. "So, kid – you were going to ask about your dad, weren't you?"

"Yeah." Now that it came to it, he was almost afraid of the question. Discovering in a day that you have not only a mother but a father as well seemed almost too much. "Y-you said he died."

"Yeah – he died a hero. The night you were born, actually." Kushina stared into the dregs of her last bowl of miso ramen.

"Does that mean he died in the Kyuubi attack?"

"Heh – kid, your dad is the one who took the Kyuubi down." Kushina raised the bowl to her lips and slurped down the remnant.

Naruto tried to process this, but it didn't seem to add up. "Wait, I thought Yondaime Hokage defeated Kyuubi…"

"That's right, kid. Your dad, Namikaze Minato, Yondaime Hokage." She put down the bowl and met his eyes, a proud light shining in her face.

Naruto turned slowly on his stool to look at the mountain behind him. He stared at that face that had been hanging chiseled over him his entire life, that face he had once splattered with paint just for kicks… _my dad_.

"What the HELL! Why didn't anyone TELL ME about any of this?" The shaking was coming back, even worse than before. He could feel the streams of tears begin to form down the sides of his face. "Why didn't anyone _say_ anything to me this whole time? I'm the son of… the son of…" He couldn't get it out. He felt in danger of exploding.

Kushina leaned over to him and once again put her arm over his shoulder in a sort of half-hug. "Teuchi-nii-san!" she hollered over his head, "Another bowl of ramen for the kid." She then leaned closer and patted Naruto's back soothingly. She spoke softly then – for just the two of them. "This village and its secrets. They're like poison. Forbidden jutsus and bloodline limits. So much riding on what isn't said – what we can keep hidden, even from ourselves." She shook her head. "Naruto." He met her eyes. "I am so sorry that I wasn't here to tell you everything from the beginning. I don't expect you to forgive me – least not right away – but I'm here now. And I'm yours now. Just – know that I'm going to be telling you the truth – that I'm going to be here. That's a promise."

Teuchi came over, set the burgeoning bowl in front of Naruto and retreated to a discreet distance. Naruto blinked at the boiled egg on top of the mound of noodles.

"Alright – I think I can handle that."

She didn't expect him to be okay – at least not right away. She obviously was serious about keeping a promise, so he could count on that. She had bought him a fifth bowl of ramen without him even asking for it. Naruto thought he could learn to live with having this woman – his mother – around from now on.


	5. FOUR

Hey folks – sorry this update is a little later than usual. My writing groove was disrupted by a number of factors which I will not go in to at this time.

Thanks, as always, to my beta, waiting4morning for bein' a grammar rockstar and an awesome friend.

Happy Easter, all! Thanks for reading, etc.!

* * *

FOUR

Kakashi lay in bed, staring at the hospital ceiling, a book resting in a little tent on his chest. Every time he breathed, the edge of the book's spine would creep into view then skulk out of sight again. It was like being stalked by a nin that had the audacity to wear bright orange. _Icha-Icha Stealth Mode_.

The ceiling tiles were ochre with age and one was missing in the far corner of the room. Kakashi kept waiting for a curious head to peek in through the trap door: curious, not menacing. That ceiling was too commonplace to conceal anything more threatening than a couple of cockroaches or a rat that liked to pilfer expired drugs from the hospital garbage.

He was alert because he was always alert, but he still let his mind wander a bit. Wander to how he had gotten himself into this bed; wander to his students and their futures; wander to the cheery face of that woman who had appeared hovering over Naruto in the doorway. And Naruto's face, like he had just been hit by an exploding tag and an avalanche of ramen at the same time.

What on earth was she doing alive? Not that it wasn't _great_ that she was alive, but still, it was baffling. Alive and unchanged, from the one glimpse Kakashi had gotten. Same hair, same bright eyes, same goofy grin. That face brought back many ghosts that usually stayed away these days, minding their own business.

His mind picked through these things and the junkie rats in the ceiling tiles. He would have read the well-thumbed book, but he somehow didn't feel like it. _I must be sicker than I thought._

Someone was walking down the hall outside his room. Things in this wing had quieted down from earlier that afternoon, so he could hear each step clearly. From the cadence and weight of the footfalls, it could have been one of the nurses that insisted on checking in on him every half hour. But somehow, Kakashi knew this wasn't a nurse. He pulled himself up into a sitting position, a little alarmed by how weak his arms still felt. He had just dog-eared his spot in the book and set it on the bedside table when she knocked on the door, stepping in before waiting for a response.

"Come in." Kakashi gave her a dry look – complete with eyebrow.

"You look less dead than you did earlier today."

"Thanks. I try." Kakashi fingered a little sleep out of the corner of his eye. "You look less dead than I thought you would look, as well."

"Yeah, well, I try too." She moseyed to the chair by his bed and plunked herself down in it. Now Kakashi could see a few wrinkles that didn't used to be there: some around the corners of the eyes, some bisecting the bridge of her nose; some that seemed to have no rhyme or reason – laugh lines, worry lines, scar lines.

"What are you doing in here, kid?" She folded her arms across her chest, giving him disapproving-mother look of assessment. Kakashi couldn't really remember his mom, but he still knew that look.

"Taking a vacation from my problems – getting a nice tan."

Kushina let out a sharp blat of laughter. "See, now I thought for sure you were going to say you were trying to pick up ladies."

"Well, that too." Kakashi scratched the back of his head, and there was an awkward pause in the conversation. "When did you get back into town?" The question didn't sound as offhand has he might have wanted, but it was a valiant effort.

Kushina took no notice; she wasn't one for reading into vocal inflections. "Yesterday afternoon." She leaned forward, propping her elbows on her knees. "Seriously, Kakashi-kun, what happened to you? The nurses didn't seem to know, and Naruto wasn't really forthcoming about the whole thing. What's going on?"

"Heh – no one's called me that in years." Kakashi leaned back against the headboard and looked up at the ceiling again.

"Oh, stop being evasive – it's really obnoxious. Who did this to you? I know it wasn't on a regular mission." Kushina's blithe tone cracked a little to reveal anxiety underneath.

"No, it was here – a couple of missing nin came in to the area to make trouble."

"Missing nin? Came to _make trouble_?" Kushina crossed her arms, impatient. "I'm not daft, Kakashi-kun. Missing nin would not just be sauntering into Konoha to cause mischief, especially not any missing nin that could lay you out for a few weeks. They must have been bingo book, and they must have had an objective. Now, spill!"

Kakashi rolled his eyes and took a deep breath. "It was Uchiha Itachi – him and a Mist ninja."

"Uchiha _Itachi_? You mean to tell me you guys never tracked him down after the massacre? What the hell! Was he after his little brother?"

"You've met Sasuke?"

"Not really – and stop dodging my questions! It's really freaking me out!" Kushina gave him an implacable look that reminded Kakashi of times when Minato, coming back bloody from a top-secret mission and with lame excuses on his lips, would get that same expression from her.

Kakashi pinched the bridge of his nose; he had forgotten how good Kushina was at giving him headaches. Kakashi decided to give. The woman obviously suspected the truth or she wouldn't be hounding him for it. "Alright, they are after Naruto. The bijuu inside him. We don't know why."

As he suspected, Kushina didn't act surprised, just perturbed and very worried. "They _are_ after Naruto? You mean you didn't get them – they're still out there? You got walloped and didn't even catch the guy?"

Seriously, how many supposed-to-be-dead women were going to come in here and tell him off for losing a fight? Kakashi let out an eloquent sigh and cast a longing glance at his book.

"And what about this Mist nin? Also missing, I presume?" Kushina had a peculiar light in her eyes, and her voice was going shrill with nerves.

Kakashi searched his mind for the name. "Hoshi—"

"Hoshigaki Kisame? Big sword, loads of chakra?"

"Yeah – that's the guy."

"Shit." It was Kushina's turn to pinch the bridge of her nose.

"You know him?"

"I've been in the Mist for the last five years, Kakashi. I was shanghaied into helping clean up the mess Kisame made when he left. Him and later on that Zabuza character. In a village known for being bloodthirsty and ruthless, they are still infamous."

"Well, Zabuza is dead, at least."

"Oh really? Well, that's something." Kushina leaned forward as if expecting a story of some kind. "Well?"

"Well, what?"

"Yeesh, never mind." Kushina covered her eyes with the heels of her hands and scrubbed at her face. When her hands fell away, Kakashi saw that she looked tired and broken. He realized that a well-timed question would probably have this woman in tears, so he remained silent. He didn't want to be the one who tore through that paper-thin resolve and unleashed a torrential outpour of emotion. It wasn't a matter of being unfeeling, but his dead sensei's mistress had just come waltzing through his hospital door after a twelve-year absence. It would not do to invite shoulder-crying – that would only lead to awkwardness for both of them.

Instead they both rested in uncomfortable silence.

"Have you ever heard of a criminal organization called Akatsuki?" Kushina sounded business-like – that was good, it indicated she too wasn't interested in a sob-session.

Kakashi made a non-committal grunt.

"Because, as far as I have been able to find, they were Kisame's last-known associates. And if they are after Naruto…" Kushina bit her lower lip, and her jaw twisted with the effort of holding something back. "Well, if they are after Naruto, I came back just in time."

"And how is Naruto handling, y'know – you?" Kakashi realized as the words escaped his mouth it that might have been The Question. He eyed Kushina, wary for signs of imminent downpour.

Rather than cry, though, Kushina let out an abrupt laugh, dry scrubbed her face with her hands again, and let out a few more chuckles. The laughter sounded a little manic, and Kakashi found himself wishing for the normal female reaction of weeping and wailing. Then again, he reminded himself, Kushina had never been a strictly normal female.

She began to speak, bursts of laughter interrupting her every few words. "That kid – y'know I think I would have been better if he had just, y'know – hauled off and hated me. I mean, he might hate me but he doesn't – well it's more awkward. It's like he is overwhelmed more than anything else." Kushina paused and took a few deep breaths, the flood of words and laughter ebbing. She wiped a bit of moisture from under her eye; had she been crying after all? When she began again, her voice was shaky and quiet. "He freezes up every time I touch him, and he seemed relieved when I left." Here she took a shuddering breath. "We'll see – the worst may be yet to come."

"Well, Naruto's never been one to hide his feelings…" Kakashi couldn't think of how to end the comment so he let it dangle.

"Heh – that may be – but maybe he's learning how to. I was about his age when I began to learn how to keep things bottled." Kushina glanced in Kakashi's direction, noted the expression on his face and let out another laugh – more natural this time. "Okay, okay – so maybe I never learned the lesson _well_."

"I didn't say anything."

"Well, you were going to. I can feel a zing coming on." Kushina paused again then leaned forward in her chair, a sober expression on her face. "Did I do the right thing, Kakashi? Coming back? Maybe there comes a point where it's just too late to return. Maybe he was better off with me dead. Maybe he doesn't really need looking after.…"

Kakashi seemed to hear echoes in the woman's voice from a much older conversation. Almost thirteen years old.

"_I'll be coming back – I'm not sure when, but I will be. In the meantime, Kakashi-kun, he'll need looking after. You'll do that, right? Keep an eye on him – whichever one you can spare."_

"I didn't." Kakashi bit his lip under his mask.

"Hm? You didn't what, Kakashi-kun?"

"Look after him. I didn't keep either eye on him, like you asked.…"

"What do you mean? He's on your team, you're his sensei. Minato would have been thrilled about that."

Kakashi felt a pang at the mention of his teacher's name. "That wasn't my doing – that was Sandaime." He shifted in his bed and resisted the urge to avert his eye from her gaze. "He was a baby, and I'm no good with babies. Rin was looking out for him for the first little bit." The excuses tasted sour in his mouth, so he cut them off before they got out of control. "I passed his team, let them graduate, but that was because they earned it. I haven't focused on his training – I've focused on Sasuke's." He stopped himself before he began a laundry list of reasons why he had chosen to focus his attention on the Uchiha. "It's good you came back. He needs you. Y'know, better la—"

"If you say 'better late than never,' I will kill you right now." The redhead's voice was chilly – Kakashi hadn't remembered that she was capable of that voice. "So you abandoned him too? When he was right in front of you?" She stood up and walked around his bed in anxious, pacing strides.

_She's deciding what to do with me_, he thought.

Kushina paused by his bedstand and looked down at his well-loved book. She picked it up, flipped through a few pages and then bounced it in her palm as if testing its merit as a projectile.

"You shouldn't be reading such smut, Kakashi-kun. You're too young." She sounded more normal, if a little absent. "Naruto was named after the hero in one of Jiraiya's books, you know – back when he still wrote stuff worth reading…" She gazed out the window to the hospital room and hefted the book in her hand. Kakashi thought for a moment that she was going to fling the novel clear out the window in a fit of petulant mommy-rage_. Icha Icha Airborne_.

But she didn't, she let the book drop back to the bedside table and turned toward the door to the room. On the threshold, she spoke again, not turning to face him. "Give your apologies to Naruto, Kakashi-kun – he's the one who deserves them." Then Kushina did glance over her shoulder at him. Again Kakashi was struck with how much she had aged.

"I'm glad you're not dead, Kakashi-kun."

"Same here."

She smirked and exited his hospital room. Kakashi looked up at the missing ceiling tile again. _Now did I mean I'm glad she's not dead or I, too, am glad I'm not dead?_

Both, he supposed.

* * *

A/N – This is for those of you who raised concerns about the last chapter (THREE). First off, let me say thanks for the constructive criticism, all. I really do want to hear it if the stuff I write seems "off" in terms of characterization etc.

That said, I've decided against reconfiguring THREE (the last chapter) because I still like what I did with it. It seemed to me that many of your concerns were based on the fact that you the commenter personally would not react as graciously as Naruto does in the story.

Well, sorry, you are not Naruto. Nor am I. He is a fictional character who is almost superhumanly forgiving and optimistic (among other things). Heavens, _**I**_ would probably punch Kushina in the face and run away crying upon first acquaintance. Naruto, though, would not run away or refuse to listen to Kushina, because when has Naruto _ever_ run away from a fight? When has he _ever_ refused to hear someone out? Of course he's not just over his issues – that's a load of issues to get over in a very short time. I'm just not the author who delves into the angst-ridden corners of the human soul for the heck of it. It's not my thing.

Also, a number of Kushina haters have left comments that she is the worst mother ever, etc. Let me just say, folks, that no matter what you say, she's my main character and I love her. YES she is a flawed individual who has made a ton of mistakes, but that doesn't mean she's beyond redemption or the most worthless mother in existence. That's why I'm writing about her – because she's _interesting_.

All that aside, I **am** taking your concerns into consideration. These comments have led me to change the course of the fic as a whole. Originally, I had chapter FOUR ready to post right after THREE, but I threw it out and started over after I got your feedback. So thank you – seriously. Just because I didn't go back and angstify the last chapter doesn't mean you weren't heard.


	6. FIVE

Wooooah. Welcome to the longest, most frequently revised chapter I have ever written for this site. (wipes away beads of sweat) I'm pleased with the result, and I hope you are too!

Thanks again to my beta, waiting4morning, who pretty much pwns all other betas. She is master of dashes and ellipses. Bow. I mean it. You – yeah, you! Why aren't you bowing?

Also thanks to all my reviewers and readers! You are all wonderful! Hugs and homemade apple pie for all (virtually speaking)!

* * *

FIVE

"Just remember, there's an empty couch in my apartment!" The Toad Sage winked at Kushina.

"Not a chance, you old pervert!" Kushina had trouble putting real anger into her words. She was fond of Minato's old teacher, after all, even if he was a reprobate. They had chanced to meet outside Hokage Tower, and he volunteered to walk her back to the barracks that was her temporary home—ostensibly to discuss Naruto's training. Kushina would be glad to return to the military boarding house, spider-ridden and depressing it might be, but at least it didn't have any lecherous old men (that she'd noticed).

"Okay, okay. Have it your way. I was just trying to be friendly!" Jiraiya held his hands out like a man who was used to being slugged.

"Yeah, well, I'm looking into apartments anyway. Hopefully something in Naruto's building." Kushina kicked at a rock in the dusty road. Truthfully, she had hoped her son (_her son!_) would volunteer his own couch. There was space enough for another futon in his place. His apartment was small but not too small for a family (_a family!_) of two…. But, no. She would not be forcing herself on Naruto—not more than she already had, anyway. She couldn't blame him for being a little reticent.

But really, the last few weeks had been surprisingly free of drama, all things considered. The kid seemed to have Minato's grace-giving nature and Kushina's own resiliency.

"I'm going out on a mission tomorrow morning anyway—should be gone for a couple of weeks." Jiraiya shrugged. "You could just use the place while I'm out."

"Hehe – Tsunade roped you into taking a mission too, eh?"

"Eh, yeah. Well, she's been having trouble filling up the mission rosters these days." Jiraiya grumbled, clearly wishing he was back at his beloved hot springs.

It wasn't surprising, considering the shortage of ninja in the village, that Jiraiya had been recruited by his old teammate. Tsunade kept trying to force dossiers on Kushina as well. Tsunade had given her one week to "acclimate to motherhood," but there her patience ran out. Kushina was expected to prove her lingering affection for Konoha with action. Kushina reflected with some bitterness that Godaime would be more patient if she had ever tried to be a mother herself, then she stuffed the sour thought down. After all, people in glass houses…

Kushina had taken a painless A-ranked mission last week—mostly because Naruto and his two other genin teammates had been out of town on their own mission, something to do with a footrace. They had returned a day after Kushina had with an injured Sasuke in tow. He was either weaker than everyone thought, or the mission was more dangerous than anticipated. Both thoughts made Kushina very uneasy for Naruto's safety—unpredictable teammates and mis-ranked missions were among the ninja's deadliest foes.

But, once again, the kid proved resilient. He seemed to be fine in the aftermath of the mission. Kushina was proud of him, even though she was aware his accomplishments were his alone. She said as much to Jiraiya.

"Yeah, no one can take any credit for that kid's guts. He may just become Hokage after all." The misplaced pride was evident in Jiraiya's voice as well.

"Thanks for what you've done for him—the training and everything."

Jiraiya paused in his tracks so suddenly that Kushina kept walking for a few steps before realizing he was missing. She turned back and looked at him, curious. The old man cleared his throat and shuffled a little where he stood.

"I haven't done a tenth of what I should have done for him. I'm ashamed to say I beat you back into his life by just a few months." The Sannin shook his shaggy white head and looked at his feet.

Kushina felt a muscle in her forehead twitch. "Are you just pretending to be humble, now, old man? Or is that true?"

Jiraiya mumbled something inaudible.

"_What was that? I didn't hear you_." Kushina's voice was dangerously even.

"I said that yes, it's true." Jiraiya glanced up then. "And even then, it took him chasing me around for a while before I paid him any mind."

"What. The. HELL?!" Kushina threw up her hands in utter exasperation. "Even YOU? Even the legendary _Jiraiya_ couldn't be bothered to check in on your protégé's SON?"

"Hey, now, it wasn't like—"

"I mean, I GET that the fact that he's a jinchuuriki creeps some people out or whatever, but seriously, he's just a kid, would it hurt you to _try_?!"

"Hey, now!" Bruised ego laced Jiraiya's tones. "I wasn't creeped out, I just—"

"YOU ARE HIS GODFATHER, MORON!! YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO IGNORE YOUR GODSON." Her voice reverberated off the walls of the alleyway. "I DON'T CARE WHAT YOUR MOTIVATION WAS!"

Jiraiya just stared at her for a moment, eyes vacant. "Oh yeah, I'd forgotten I was his godfather…"

He didn't have time to put up any guarding hands this time, and Kushina wasn't sure he would have anyway. Her fist connected squarely with the sage's jaw, and the big man's head snapped sharply back. He staggered a little.

Kushina stood there, breathing hard, hands still clenched while Jiraiya slowly straightened up. He looked _almost_ chastened enough, but Kushina still had pent-up rage. Kakashi's had been the first in a long line of pseudo-apologies that she had received from those who had been cruel—either actively or passively—to her son in her absence. It had been building for a while, this outburst, and if anyone deserved the full force of her wrath, it was the thoughtless, _thoughtless_ man standing in front of her.

After all, she had _trusted_ these people with her son. And Jiraiya, his own _godfather!_ How on earth could he just _forget?_ Kushina took a deep breath, forcing the anger down, submerging it in her own endless well of guilt.

"If you're trying to get into my good graces, it's not working, old man." Kushina's voice was a little calmer now, but not much. _You can't kill him, he's got to go on a mission tomorrow._ Somehow the ludicrous thought soothed her ruffled feathers.

They had almost reached the barracks, so Kushina turned away from Jiraiya, who looked pained but was stubbornly refusing to nurse his bruised jaw. He looked dignified for once—chastened and humble.

"At least we're both here for him now." She managed to make it sound like a threat.

"Kushina… I really am truly sorry."

Kushina paused in her steps but didn't turn around. "G'night for now, old friend."

"Night."

* * *

Kushina was roused the next morning by an obnoxious banging on the door. Groaning, she rolled off her bottom bunk – one of many institutional sleeping stations in the long drab barracks unit. She landed in a heap of limbs and blankets on the concrete floor.

"Hold your horses, will ya!" she mumble-shouted at the door. It was certain to be a page from Hokage Tower telling her to report for assignment. She had sensed a mission on the horizon when at Tsunade's office the night before.

"Hey! Lady! C'mon get out of bed!" The juvenile voice that rang through the door made Kushina grimace with pain and then grin with pleasure. Naruto.

"Hey, kid! You're supposed to call me 'mom,' remember?" Kushina shook her head to dislodge the sleepy fog. "There aren't any of the Hokage's flunkies out there with you, are there?"

"Huh? No, why?" Naruto sounded genuinely puzzled.

Kushina clawed her way to her feet and dragged herself over to the door, the blanket trailing her like a cape. She opened the door and looked down at the florescent orange kid standing there.

"Oh, no reason, come on in."

"I _was_ there this morning, and they _did_ tell me to bring you this." Naruto pulled a manila envelope from behind his back, and Kushina groaned. The blond gave a raucous laugh.

Kushina took the envelope and tossed it on to the bed. She then turned to the spattered, minute mirror that hung above the grubby little sink in the corner of the room and began to tend to her outrageous bed head. She had cut her hair short for a while, but it was back down to its long length—its Konoha length, its peacetime length; the way Minato had liked it best.

"Geez, lady, this place is a dump…" Naruto flopped onto the disheveled bed.

"Yeah, well, I'd like to get a nicer place soon. If Tsunade-hime lets me spend more than two consecutive days in town, that is." She scowled at a particularly stubborn snarl. "Anyway, what are you up to today?"

"Eh, I don't know. I think I may go visit Sasuke with Sakura-chan. I want to get some training done too, maybe get some ramen."

"Mind if I join you?" Kushina glanced over at her son; he looked hesitant. "For the training at least— I have to go to Hokage Tower at some point, apparently." She gestured to the envelope.

"Uh, okay." He gave a shrug and scratched some sleep out of the corner of his eye.

"Well, go wait outside; I'll be there in a minute."

Once her son had exited the dank chamber, Kushina methodically changed into her clothes and sat on the edge of the bed flipping through the information packet while fingering through the last tangles in her hair. It looked like a two-man mission to Water Country. Apparently Tsunade decided that her experience with Mist nins over the last few years would be more help than hindrance. Kushina shoved the papers back into the envelope, frustrated. The packet didn't indicate a rank or even say who the other ninja was assigned was, but the information it did give indicated she wouldn't be able to wiggle her way out of this one. Adding the file to her weapons pack, Kushina pushed the thought from her mind for the time being and left the barracks to join her son in letting off some steam.

* * *

Kushina followed her son into the forest until it became clear from his glances over his shoulder that he really didn't particularly want company while training. Once she came to a likely clearing she shouted ahead that she would be there for a while, and she would find him later. Naruto seemed relieved at this. Soon she lost his shape in the riot of foliage and set about the business of training.

And she really did train for a while, brushing off her old skill of pulling water out of underground water tables for use in combat. It caught people off guard in these landlocked parts—suddenly having to fend off walls of water that weren't there before. She had gotten rusty, or maybe lazy, from her years on the islands. It was necessary in such locations to have the biggest and the strongest jutsus around, because it seemed everyone over there could manipulate water. Here, back in Fire Country, she was reminded of the value of finesse as well as power.

After a while, however, Kushina abandoned her practice in favor of watching her son. She didn't exactly sneak up on Naruto, but she approached without being seen, and crouched just out his range of sight— she told herself it was because she didn't want to bother him. Kushina had to hand it to the kid, she had never seen someone produce quite so many shadow clones or use them quite so creatively. Countless hyperactive blonds filled the clearing in front of her: sparring with one another, transforming into inanimate objects or extra weapons, climbing trees with chakra control, stalking one another for target practice—all while making a _lot_ of noise. She could easily see how an army of Narutos would be handy on a mission—for the sheer overwhelming _energy_ of it if nothing else.

She was beginning to wonder why on earth Tsunade hadn't promoted him to chuunin yet when she began to see a familiar swirl of chakra forming in the kid's hand. There was just one clone left—all the rest had since poofed out of existence—and the two blonds were hunched over a brightening wad of spinning chakra.

_Rasengan_.

She had seen Minato produce the same thing hundreds of times. She'd been there with him when he was developing it. She used to call it his "destructo-ball" until he had settled on a name for it. That had driven Minato nuts. The sight of that particular jutsu in her son's hands made her—well it made her feel like her mind was bursting and her chest imploding. Where had he learned it? Kakashi? Jiraiya? It was an A-Ranked jutsu, for crying out loud, did he even know that? Did he even know it was his father's?

One Naruto straightened up with the ball-o-destruction, and the other stepped back as the rasengan was used to make quick work of a boulder. The rock exploded into bits of gravel, and the Narutos high-fived one another in victory. Naruto's two-man version of the rasengan seemed to have every bit as much kick as Minato's.

An uncontrollable twitch in her diaphragm made her take in a gust of air. She realized she hadn't been breathing. At the noise, the boys suddenly straightened and glanced her way. The bystander Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke and the remaining kid hollered in her direction. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?"

Kushina felt a jab of pain and resisted the urge to just run away. Her chest still felt tight, but she was at least breathing now. She got to her feet, still shaky, and stepped into Naruto's clearing, placing her hands on her hips.

"Oh, it's you!" Naruto sounded a little less sure of his outrage. "What're you doing? Spying on me?"

"Er, no, I'm sorry, I just... You're looking good out there, kid!" Resisting the urge to ruffle his hair or apologize further, Kushina instead gestured to the spot that had once contained a boulder. "That destructo-ball would have done your dad proud.…"

"Hey! It's called rasengan!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." She managed a smile. "Anyway, I'd better be getting back to the village. I still have to report to Hokage Tower about that mission thing. You wanna come with and catch some lunch first?"

"Ichiraku?"

"Where else?"

"Then, hell yes!" Naruto gave her a look of excitement that was so purely Minato, it made Kushina's lungs seize up again. Then she did reach out and ruffle his hair, partially to assure herself that this wasn't a ghost—just a very talented little boy. She noted how his shoulders tensed and reluctantly drew away her hand.

* * *

One way in which Naruto was not like his father was his appetite. Oh, Minato could eat, that was certain, but he was nothing compared to this kid. She had stopped letting Naruto order his fill about a week into their… _acquaintance? reunion? family?_ Usually, Minato had let Kushina finish off the remainder of his second bowl of noodles. Also, he used to get so nervous on dates that he would eat next to nothing at all. She had wondered at first if he was ill. It had taken a while around Kushina before Minato had eaten normally.

Maybe Naruto was the kind to eat _more_ when nervous?

Kushina paid the bill—still sizable, but not obscene as it had been that first week—and left her son to finish up his lunch. As she stood up from the stool, Naruto thanked her for the meal. The words soothed her rumpled self-loathing a bit, and she resisted the urge to ruffle his hair again.

Hokage Tower still gave her a chill whenever she entered it, but Kushina had learned to reach the Hokage's office by a different route—one that didn't pass by the suite of rooms in which she had once lived.

Outside the door to Tsunade's office, she found a figure slouched against the wall with an aggressively orange novel in his gloved hand. Kushina recognized the book and the reader.

"Kakashi-kun!"

"Kushina-san." Kakashi straightened a little and tracked her approach with his one visible eye.

Kushina shoved her hands in her pockets and slumped against the wall opposite—unconsciously mirroring his pose. Because she was at a loss for conversation, she gestured at the book in his hand. "Still reading the same book?"

"Different book; same series." He flipped a page. "Good books— you should try them. All kinds of good strong characters, engaging storylines, juicy plot twists—"

"Hey, now! I don't want to hear about any juicy plot twists!" Kushina had intended the comment to be funny, but it came off sounding angry. She scowled down at her shoes, and Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"Kakashi-san – Kushina-san – Godaime is ready for you now." It was that jumpy little brunette that seemed to be Tsunade's assistant, apprentice, and conscience all rolled into one. She stood at the office doorway and gestured for them both to come inside. _So Kakashi is to be the other ninja on this mission, eh?_ As Kakashi straightened up, Kushina was once again struck with how tall he had grown—she had to tilt her head up a little to look at him. He probably wasn't too young to be reading Jiraiya's "literature" after all.

Tsunade laid the mission out in detail once they had entered the room.

"There is a string of threats trickling into Konoha— threats against our village, me in particular, that seem… hm… distressingly well-informed about the current state of understaffing and disrepair that the village has suffered. Now, obviously in the aftermath of Orochimaru's attack, the menace of invasion is always there, but these particular rumors are cause for concern."

The woman was being deliberately vague, which was infuriating. Kushina decided to cut to the chase.

"So you suspect treachery from within the village? And apparently these threats are coming from the Village Hidden in the Mist?"

"We think so, and that's where you come in, Kushina-san. Your experiences having lived there a number of years somehow makes you our resident expert on the subject. We need someone who can dance around the political intrigues of the region and get us some answers without stepping in a huge pile of shit." Tsunade sounded dubious, as if she wasn't so sure that Kushina would be any good at dancing. "We need you to find where these threats are coming from and nip them in the bud, if possible."

Kushina herself was beginning to rue the day she let her search take her so close to the Water Country—it seemed like she would never escape that place. The only thing that bothered Kushina was the fact that Kakashi was going along. It wasn't _that_ big of a mission—just preliminary reconnaissance and a possible assassination. At worst, it would call for the eradication of a terrorist cell. It was S-ranked, but certainly not a journey that required two jounin-level ninja— a squad of chuunin would serve as sufficient backup. Kushina let her thoughts be known— it never paid to bottle opinions.

"Because we don't quite trust you yet, Kushina." Tsunade looked her squarely in the face as she delivered the informational blow. "You were a few pieces of paperwork away from being categorized a missing nin when you came back to the village. For all we know, you could be the leak."

_Ouch. And out comes the truth behind the matter_.

"So… what?" Kushina stuck her hands on her hips and scowled. "Kakashi-kun is supposed to be my babysitter? Is he going to report back to you whether or not I've been a good little underling? That I'm not the mole?"

"Something like that, yeah." Tsunade mirrored Kushina's huffy pose.

"Don't worry Kushina-san, I won't make you go to bed super early or check to see if you've brushed your teeth." Kakashi's voice was mild. His hands remained insolently in his pockets.

"Tch, shaddup brat." Kushina couldn't help but let out one dry chuckle at the irony of it all. "I guess I'll have to live with it. When do we set out for this mission?"

"As soon as possible, this evening would be best." Tsunade leaned over her desk, displaying another inch of cleavage and looked at both jounins in turn. "You're dismissed."

"Hai."

They exited the office and the building together— making plans to rendezvous just after sunset. When they were outside in the afternoon sun, however, Kakashi didn't break off in a different direction. He continued to scuff alongside Kushina.

"Hey, where do you think you're going? You following me or something? Already on guard duty?" She knew she sounded like a petulant child, but she couldn't help it. Uzumaki Kushina had been called many unpleasant names—some of them deserved—but traitor had never made that list. Until now.

"I'm headed to the hospital – to check in on Sasuke."

"Ah, Naruto should be over there visiting him now— guess I'll join you." Kushina shoved her hands in her pockets, grasping for conversation. It didn't come to her so she left their walk silent. Eventually, Kakashi pulled out his porn and leafed through it while walking.

Kushina let her mind wander. So she would have to prove her loyalty through action. This mission was an opportunity to, on one level, restore her status as a citizen of Konoha; she knew she should be thankful for it. Any reputation she'd ever had as a powerful, dependable kunoichi of Konoha had been eradicated by her own life choices. Now it was time to re-build what was lost. Somehow, though, she couldn't relish the thought of spending a number of days under the watchful eye of Kakashi— things had been awkward with that kid ever since she'd gotten back.

_Oh well, whatever it takes, right?_

When they were about a block away from the hospital, Kushina became aware of the sound of juvenile shouts emanating from nearby. At first, she dismissed it for a casual match between a couple of Academy kids, but the closer they got, the more it sounded like the shouts were coming from the hospital— or more appropriately from the hospital's roof. It wasn't until she thought she recognized a girlish scream that Kushina really began to worry— that almost sounded like Naruto's teammate, Sakura.

Kakashi had by this time stowed his porn and was also gazing at the roof with some concern. They had both paused to stare at the rooftop outside the building when a faint glow began to creep up above the edge of the building. The glow was accompanied by a high-pitched, whining chirrup which seemed oddly familiar. Kushina glanced over at Kakashi intending to give him a "_what _is_ that?"_ look, but he was staring at the building in horror. Before Kushina could ask him what the problem was, Kakashi had launched himself up the side of the building. Kushina was hard on his heels, the eerie scream of a young girl serving as descant for the rhythm of their footfalls and the atonal chirping melody.

Hurling herself over the edge of the building, the sight that met Kushina's eyes was chilling. Her son faced his teammate, the Uchiha—anger and confusion were written across Naruto's face, anger and malice on Sasuke's. The bird-like squeaking seemed to be coming from the hand of the latter; he held a crackling ball of lightening and was racing for Naruto. Naruto in turn had produced a rasengan— a 'destructo-ball' (the glib name made Kushina want to vomit now)— which was on its way toward Sasuke's chest. Sakura, screaming protests, was running to get between the two boys.

Kushina couldn't move. _They are going to kill one another. They are going to kill Sakura-chan. There's no way to stop this. There is going to be death_.

Fortunately, Kakashi didn't stop moving—Kushina could barely track his leap into the fray, it was so quick. In the space of a blink, both of the boys, each with their deadly jutsus still clutched in their right hands, were hurling toward one of the water towers that supplied the hospital. They landed with a resounding clang and a torrential slosh, and with that gong tone, Kushina was somehow released from her petrifaction.

Kushina raced up to stand abreast with Sakura. The pink-haired genin looked as shocked as Kushina felt. Kakashi landed lightly beside them, and they all three looked up at the two hotheaded boys who were now embedded in water towers.

Sasuke removed his hand gingerly from the tangled metal. He moved with stiff motions, like he wasn't completely over his injuries yet. Once he stepped back a steady gush of water began to drain from the hole. _That could have been Naruto,_ was Kushina's first furious thought. The blond extracted himself from his own water tower soon thereafter. A thin jet of water issued from a perfectly rounded dent in the metal. She knew that was not where the real damage lay— the contra coup effect: the damage would be much worse on the other side. She had heard the sudden gush of water at impact, and knew that the puddle that was dampening her toes now was much too large to be produced only by the rivers of water that now emitted from each tower. _My son almost did that to his best friend._

Both boys were still breathing hard when Kakashi turned to give Kushina a look. An _angry_ look. For a moment, she almost didn't recognize it—after all, it took a lot of emotion to visibly crack his cool exterior.

"I assume it was you who taught Naruto that jutsu?"

Kushina glared at him. "No, I didn't, you idiot! I haven't used rasengan since Minato died. And anyway—you're one to talk! What about Sasuke? That was _chidori_, Kakashi. What the hell were you thinking giving a jutsu like that to an Uchiha?"

Sasuke shot Naruto a smug glance before launching himself off the roof, away from his teammates. Kakashi glanced at Kushina and then turned to the edge of the building.

"You talk to Naruto, I'll deal with Sasuke."

"Okay, fine. We'll meet up later." Kushina was pleased at how even her voice sounded. She was also pleased that she hadn't hauled off and smacked Kakashi upside the head.

Naruto looked dazed and completely brokenhearted. Kushina waited until Kakashi had followed after Sasuke before she spoke again. She turned to Sakura who had tears streaming down her face. "Sakura-chan – you should go home. Eat some dinner. We'll take care of this."

"H-hai." Sakura seemed shaken, but she obeyed. Kushina approached her son. He was faintly vibrating with tension, and Kushina could see the echoes of chakra emanating from him.

"What the hell was that all about, kid?" Kushina fought to keep her voice calm, but the fear made her sound angry, and she knew it. _Oh well, consider this his first motherly scolding. He very nearly just killed a teammate._

"La- Mom." He looked up at her with enormous eyes. "I – I really don't know. He just, he wanted to fight, so I figured okay, and then… well then he started to get serious about it and…" Naruto shook his head. "I don't know."

Kushina felt a claw of foreboding clutch at her soul. Of all the times to be slotted to leave on an important mission. She did not want to leave her son, did not want to be absent when all of this was going on. Even more than she had to prove herself as a ninja, Kushina knew that she had yet to prove herself as a mother.

But what could she do? She had accepted the mission already; Tsunade was unlikely to be sympathetic to her throbbing maternal instinct, especially given what was at stake on this mission—both personally and for the entire village.

Well, she had an hour or so—she could at least make the most of what she had.

"Let's go back to your apartment and we'll talk it out." Kushina put a tentative hand on the back of Naruto's head and stroked at his hair. He nodded in assent, and she saw his tense shoulders relax a modicum at her touch. The sun was laying down to rest on the horizon, and the sky went bloodshot as Kushina and Naruto began to pick their way across the rooftops of Konoha.


	7. SIX

Hurrah! 100+ reviews! I'm pretty jazzed, not gonna lie.

Enormous props to my beta waiting4morning, as always. As it is after midnight, my creativity is defunct - wedged between the hours of coherence and the hours of loopyness - so she doesn't get an uber-creative complement this chapter. I'm sure she understands, because she's nice like that - even if she won't let me use the phrase "for Pete's sake" in my stories. (Pete needs love in Japan too!)

* * *

SIX

Uzumaki Kushina stepped up to the sloppy mountain of man which wore the Mist symbol on both clenched fists. She approached him gracefully, as if preparing to dance with him. He was disgusting, breathing hard and sopping wet, and the expression on his face was leering hatred. Once the Whirlpool kunoichi—for her own part mostly unscathed—was within range, he grunted and swung at her with one of his massive fists. Kakashi noted the angle of the attack; its speed. This guy was done for, bested before the fight even began.

Kushina did seem to dance then—ducking and whirling under the punch to come up behind him with a kunai. Her hair, still unbound, followed after her like a red shadow or the lingering afterimage one gets from staring at a bright light for too long. She drew the blade across his neck, finding purchase between the hairy rolls of fat that formed the behemoth's chins. Kakashi stepped out of range to miss the new spray of red that burst from the man. The Mist nin collapsed on the floor in a fleshy heap.

"You could have helped a little bit, you know, Kakashi-kun." Kushina glared at him. She was a little winded after all. Kakashi noted a purpling swell on the left side of her face.

"Eh, you had it well in hand. Did he break your jaw?"

"I wouldn't be able to yell at you if he had."

"Was that the last of them?" Kakashi glanced at the ninja Kushina had just killed—he made five in total.

"I think so. This guy was probably the brains of the outfit, sad as that is." She gestured at the slain figure.

A nerve ticked in the back of Kakashi's mind: he had been sure there were more enemies, but he couldn't sense any foreign chakra now. With the first ninja's genjutsu and Kushina's water clones it was possible, though unlikely, that he had misjudged the numbers.

"Are you sure about that?"

"I don't know, Kakashi-kun," she said with a terse toss of her head. "There might have been one more, but I don't know where he would have gone."

Kakashi surveyed their location: the back patio of a rather swanky resort hotel in a harbor town on the Fire Country's border. Well, at least it used to be swanky, now it was a little disheveled. They were standing on a balcony suspended over the crashing bay waves. Bits of the marble tiling were cracked and uprooted from hard impacts, and at least one long section of the ornate railing was missing from where a stubborn Mist ninja had been blasted over the edge by a fireball from Kakashi. There were still scorch marks all over the place. A couple of the sliding glass doors that led back into the hotel lobby were shattered, and he could see a number of fascinated and terrified tourists peering through to catch sight of the spectacle.

Kakashi sighed. "Do you think you could have picked a more public place for a match, Kushina-san?"

"Hey, now, I didn't pick this place out. It's not my fault the lot of them refused to hold their secret meetings off in private somewhere. What was I supposed to do, just ask them nicely to retire to a secluded alleyway so we could kill them all for their treachery?"

"It was supposed to be a _covert _operation, you know."

"Yeah, well, we got the job done, didn't we?" Kushina raised her voice for the obvious benefit of the crowd. "Besides, maybe we've taught all these bystanders a lesson in not passing on Fire Country tactics to obvious outsiders."

"These are civilians, Kushina-san, I don't think they had anything to do with the information leak."

"No, these are rich _tourists_, and every time they blabbed about a mission they purchased from Konoha, they gave these guys more fuel." Kushina lowered her voice to a mutter. "Information leak indeed. They were just unearthing the sorry truth in a big old pile of rumors. I'm more worried about who these Mist nin were reporting all their findings to."

She had a point. The threats against the Hokage did seem concocted from hearsay and deduction rather than any real security breach. Still, fighting out in the open like this was never a good idea. The fact that they were still out on the balcony made Kakashi's nerves tingle.

"You still don't think it was legitimate orders from the Mist? None of these guys are missing status in the bingo book—that I know of at least." Kakashi knew that the bingo book always lagged behind the times by a month or so. Intelligence in Konoha was good, but not flawless, especially with recent understaffing.

"This guy here went missing a couple months before I split the Mist." Kushina crouched down by the most recent body and scowled. "He was the son of one of their politicians. Used to be a nice kid. Left with a bunch of top-secret scrolls and dossiers. Odds are the others were also renegades."

Kakashi nodded thoughtfully, and Kushina glanced up at him. "When we get back to Konoha, I'll draft a letter telling some of my contacts there that we've cleaned up a few of their messes for them. They'll be in Konoha's debt, which is always good."

Kushina stood and walked over to the edge of the balcony and peered over the edge. It was a long way down to the beach below. She then shaded her eyes and looked out at the thin line of land off in the distance and the expanse of bridge that connected the mainland to the Wave Country islands.

"They call that new bridge the Great Naruto Bridge, don't they?" Kushina grinned in Kakashi's direction. "I took it on my way home to Konoha, thought it was damn ironic."

"Not really." Kakashi pulled his forehead protector down over Obito's sharingan and dusted off his vest.

"How do you mean?" Kushina gingerly prodded at her jaw with a couple of feminine fingers, winced, and swept her hair out of her eyes as she turned away from the edge of the balcony.

"It was named after your son—one of the first difficult missions Team 7 went on involved protecting its engineer. I guess Naruto made an impression." Kakashi felt a private smile spread across his face. Naruto was a great one for making impressions.

Kushina jerked her eyes back to the horizon, mouth gaping. "No shit! Are you serious? That little bastard never told me!" She gazed at the bridge, stunned for a few more moments, and then shook her head slowly. "I should visit it again someday."

"Well, we should probably clean up this mess first…" Kakashi jerked a thumb toward the tourists.

"I said someday, moron, not right this very second. Besides, I think we need to get back to Konoha as soon as possible." Kushina frowned and bit her bottom lip. "Tonight, if we can make it."

They both turned toward the crowd. Kakashi shoved his hands in his pockets and wished for a quiet afternoon with a book. Instead, he would have to deal with a gaggle of gawkers and a breakneck race back home. All the same, he too could feel an antsy pull back to their hidden village. It had been a rotten time to leave on a mission. He thought he'd gotten through to Sasuke before leaving, but still it wouldn't do to let him to brood too long. Knowing the Uchiha boy, he would sulk until forced out of it. Team 7 could use a good, slightly dangerous B-ranked mission to get them all back on track in the teamwork department.

A portly man with a stupendous moustache and a dignified comb-over elbowed his way through the crowd as they approached. The manager, and he did not look happy. _Shit, they're going to try and send us home with a repair bill. Tsunade-hime is going to kill Kushina-san for this…._

As they drew closer, though, the manager's face went from glower to terror. Kakashi felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. In the jagged edges of the glass remains of the doors, Kakashi could see a swish of movement reflected from near the broken edge of the veranda. A sixth ninja had been hiding over the side of the balcony, waiting to make his move. He was brandishing a well-battered and hefty bo-staff.

Kakashi sensed Kushina tense at the same time he himself began to turn. Running through a series of hand seals, Kakashi reached for the fire element—as it was the last thing he had produced, it seemed closest at hand. He prepared to give the guy a grand fireball to the face. Deal with it quickly without using too much chakra. What were a few more scorch marks in the long run?

Unfortunately, at the same time as he drew in a chakra-infused breath, he noticed Kushina was still at his side, running hand seals of her own.

Dangit—picked the wrong element after all.

Just as Kakashi let loose his fiery breath, an enormous tentacle of water rose up from over the side of the balcony and made for the enemy ninja. Kakashi allowed himself to be impressed at the range of Kushina's chakra control, but then he heard the redhead at his side let out a string of profanity at the sight of the fireball. The jutsus hit their target simultaneously with a loud sizzling noise.

Steam hissed everywhere. The fireball was instantly quenched by the jet of water, but not before it turned the balcony into a large, open-air sauna. Visibility was practically nil, but Kakashi could still hear Kushina's profanity.

"What happened to letting me take care of it, you idiot?" The redhead wasn't really hiding her location. Kakashi held his tongue and resisted the urge to twitch up the corner of his forehead protector again. The sharingan would be little use in these conditions. Oh well, he had other skills.

Kakashi was getting ready to summon Pakkun for scenting when Kushina materialized by his side. A water clone: insubstantial because of the misty nature of its source. She turned her head and gave him a wink and a couple of hand signals. Kakashi nodded and reached for his equipment pouch as the ethereal copy of Kushina wavered into the heart of the mist.

It was over quickly then. Kakashi followed the sounds of a struggle in to the fog. He could hear whispers of a low, feminine voice calling out. Kakashi didn't envy the enemy his position. His very cover kept materializing into a seemingly endless army of redheaded women which reconstituted even as he whacked them away.

He crept up behind the ninja, and as the mist began to clear, he lunged. Soon he and Kushina were standing back from an expertly trussed-up ninja. He was young—probably not older than 16. His face was beet red and damp, as if he had recently been laundered by an aggressive washer-woman.

Nicely, done, Kakashi-kun! You didn't even have to bash him on the head!"

"Nope."

"We may get some answers after all. Should we try and break him here, or take him back and let the experts do it?" Kushina stooped to pick up the discarded bo-staff.

"We'll take him with us. As you said, it'd be best to get back sooner rather than later."

"Agreed."

Kakashi tossed the kid over one shoulder, and he and Kushina started back toward the exit. On the way out, Kushina paused by the manager, who still was bristling but also looked askance at the bo-staff in the woman's hand. Before he could speak, she cut in.

"You really should take more care with who you let stay in your hotel, mister." The redhead reached over and patted the captured Mist ninja on the rump by way of demonstration.

The manager sputtered as if preparing to bluster.

"We won't let it slip that you were harboring a group of Mist terrorists, though, don't worry." Kakashi picked up the threat with a solemn nod.

The manager stopped sputtering and looked a little more afraid. Kushina gave him a grin and picked delicately through the crowd, which gave them a respectful berth as they exited the ruined hotel.

* * *

The extra weight of the enemy ninja slowed them down a bit, so they didn't reach Konoha that night. Their low chakra reserves forced them to make camp and continue on the next day. Kushina was up before the sun that morning, already packed and pacing the campsite by the time Kakashi awoke. She kept glancing off in the direction of Konoha as if seized by some intuitive foreboding. The closer they got to the village, the more nervous she seemed. The attitude was catching. Kakashi felt a little jumpy too. As for the prisoner, he stayed clam-quiet except for the occasional moan—after all, it was never fun to be lugged around like a sack of potatoes all day. However, as the one forced to do most of the lugging, Kakashi felt little sympathy.

The two Konoha ninja were quiet much of the time as well, but it wasn't the awkward silence of their journey out to the mission. Something about the action of fighting the enemy elbow-to-elbow had warmed Kushina's lingering resentment. She seemed like the woman Kakashi remembered from his childhood—if perhaps a little more careworn.

The reached the outer gate by 9 am. Hokage Tower by 9:05 as the streets were eerily free of acquaintances and there were no guards stationed at the gate. After depositing the Mist ninja into the care of the Detention and Interrogation facility, they went directly to Tsunade's office. She seemed to be expecting them, hedged in by a fortress of files and paperwork, she had two mission dossiers laid out in front of her.

"These are your new assignments. Both urgent, both S-ranked. I suggest you get going on these as soon as possible. Yours in particular, Kakashi, has an expiration date of like, yesterday. Your full report on this last mission can wait." Tsunade folded her arms and gave Kakashi a pointed glance, as if inquiring after any red flags he might have picked up on during his time with Kushina. He gave a thoughtful nod by way of approval, and Tsunade turned her attention to Naruto's mother.

"I take it this means I'm cleared of suspicion? Can I at least see my son before I go?" Kushina's tone was just south of respectful, as if she thought the Hokage was being a bit bitchy but was studiously holding her tongue.

"Not necessarily and no." Tsunade's tone matched Kushina's. "Your son happens to be on an emergency mission right now."

"Why, what happened?" The word "emergency" gave an ominous ring in Kakashi's mind.

Tsunade sighed and glanced back at Kushina. "Uchiha Sasuke left the village the night you left for your last mission. A team of… the ninja we had available… were sent out in pursuit once the disappearance was discovered the following morning. Naruto was on that team."

"Sasuke _left_? Do you know where he went?" Kakashi could feel beads of sweat forming on his forehead. That meant the team had been gone for two full days already.

"We think he may be headed to join Orochimaru." Tsunade's soft voice confirmed his worst fears.

"Wait a minute! What do you mean, 'the ninja we had available'?" Kushina shot Kakashi a glance. He could see his own terror reflected in her eyes.

"Nara Shikamaru led a team consisting of Amikichi Chouji, Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Neji, and your son." Tsunade consulted her notes for the list.

"What did you say?" Kakashi felt the exclamation tear from his throat of its own accord. He leaned over the Hokage's hardworking desk. "You sent five rookies to get Sasuke?"

"There was no other choice given the situation in the village. We've hit the necessary minimum." Tsunade folded her hands with finality.

Kakashi felt frozen in place for a moment, then took a deliberate step back from the desk and turned toward the door. Kushina followed suit, a little more urgency in her steps.

"Look at this! Your missions have already been decided!" Tsunade called out after them, crinkling paper indicated she was holding up the dossiers.

"Screw that!" Kushina shot back over her shoulder.

"Eh, we'll be back when we're finished… don't worry." Kakashi shot the Hokage a half-assed wave as he exited the room, Kushina close on his heels.


	8. SEVEN

SIGH Happy monday.

Waiting4morning helped me fix enough stuff in this chapter and added enough extra explaination where I was falling short that I'm going to call this chapter a collab. She's becoming very good at saving my sorry behind. Go read her stuff, she's pretty groovy.

* * *

SEVEN

The forest that stretched in front of them looked impassibly huge to Kushina; the wait ludicrously long. She couldn't help tapping her foot in impatience. Kakashi was still, arms crossed over his chest, expression serious. His nin-dogs had been gone for a couple of minutes, but it felt like years had passed already.

"Do you think the dogs will be able to find Sasuke's scent?"

"Yes." The young man gave a slow nod as his eye scanned the impenetrable forest.

"Why do you suppose he left? Sasuke, I mean?"

"I'm not sure about specifics."

"Well, in general then." Kushina heard the irritable edge in her voice.

Kakashi's one visible eyebrow just lowered a modicum, an indication of a slight scowl.

"C'mon Kakashi-kun! You _were_ practically the last person to talk to him; wasn't there any indication that he was about to go AWOL?"

He turned to look at her then, expression pained. "I thought I'd gotten through to him. I must have misjudged." Kakashi returned his gaze to the trees. "Or, he may have been influenced by some other factor I'm not seeing."

Just then, a litany of howls rang out from some ways into the forest. Kushina snapped to attention.

"Pakkun…" Kakashi murmured. "Let's go."

Kushina gathered some chakra into her legs and leapt to the nearest tree branch, following the sounds of barking into the green.

* * *

The sense of foreboding that had plagued Kushina since before they had left on their mission intensified as she followed the small brown pug deeper into the forest. It felt like falling into a complex, expertly constructed booby trap. One in which you can only see the mechanism and tripwires once you are thoroughly ensnared. Or, more accurately, it was like watching the final act of a tragic play—knowing that it was all going to end in a pile of dead bodies; knowing that a single right choice along the way could have spared the heroes; knowing it was too late for any sort of reprieve. That's why Kushina had always hated the theatre.

_But it might not be too late—there could still be time._ She kept repeating that thought, refusing to let her hope be squelched entirely.

Kakashi and Pakkun paused suddenly on the trail, and Kushina, who had been off in the land of metaphor, very nearly fell off the branch she landed on with the momentum she had built up. Frantically pin-wheeling her arms, Kushina managed to glue herself to the branch with some chakra.

"Hey! What's the big idea? Why have we stopped?"

Kakashi pointed to the forest floor before dropping down and crouching to inspect something hidden from Kushina's line of sight. She could sense the chakra signatures now—there had definitely been a battle here—and not long ago. She followed Kakashi to the ground and saw the figure that he was kneeling beside. It was a Konoha genin, slumped against the trunk of a tree, apparently collapsed with exhaustion, but Kushina didn't recognize him as one of Naruto's friends.

"Akimichi Chouji," Kakashi muttered, and it hit Kushina that this was the chubby kid she had seen around town—always with a bag of chips or similar snack food. But the figure by Kakashi was thin: a pinched, unhealthy sort of thin that did not bode well.

Glancing over her shoulder, she saw another figure in a clearing about 100 meters away: an enormous figure. Kushina ran over to it, leaving Kakashi to check the Akimichi kid's vital signs. This one, at least, was definitely dead—here was the loser of the fight. His mouth was gaping, and his clouded eyes were staring at the sky. He was surrounded by uprooted trees and gouged earth. The body was cold; he had been dead a good long while. She searched the body until she found a forehead protector. Sound ninja. So Orochimaru was behind Sasuke's flight after all….

Kushina felt her mouth twist with disgust. Was this Uchiha kid so desperate for power that he'd betray his own village? Then she remembered that he'd already tried to kill Naruto once, and her blood ran cold. _Naruto._

A shrill whistle sounded from Kakashi's direction.

Kushina cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted. "Hey! If you want me to come over there you could just holler, you know! No need to be rude!"

No response from Kakashi, he stood up and appeared to be studying the tree trunk. Kushina jogged back over to join him.

"Oy, what was with the whistle, brat? I'm not a Labrador."

"The whistle wasn't for you." Kakashi leaned forward and fingered an arrow that had been scored in the bark of the tree. A rustle came from somewhere to their left. Kushina nearly jumped out of her skin. A kunai was already in her hand, poised for flight, when an enormous greyhound came into view from amidst the undergrowth. The bizarre mix of clothing and bandages it wore marked it as a nin-dog. It sat on its trim haunches and panted a little, tail wagging contentedly.

"I need you to run a message to Konoha." Kakashi crouched down to rub the dog's ears. "Tsunade-sama must dispatch the medical corps to pick up some wounded genin. Lead them here and have them follow this trail." He indicated the bark. The dog closed its lolling tongue back in to its mouth and immediately sped off in the direction of the village.

"Can that one even talk?" Kushina looked at the space where the dog had disappeared into the underbrush.

"Hm… I don't think so."

"What the hell! Then how is he supposed to give the message?"

"He'll figure it out. We need to get moving."

"Oh, I found this on the guy he killed." Kushina handed Kakashi the forehead protector. The little eighth note gave a dull glint in the thin forest sunlight. Recognition spread on Kakashi's face, and he looked back at Chouji, perhaps a mite impressed.

"Is he going to be okay?" Kushina pointed at the kid, who still looked in bad shape, but no longer quite dead.

"Yeah, he'll make it." With that Kakashi leapt back up to the branches, and Kushina followed, sparing a second for a backward glance at the genin propped against the tree.

* * *

They didn't get very far before Kakashi halted again. This time he dropped to the ground and followed the chakra signatures of battle almost half a mile off the beaten track. Kushina wished desperately to tell Kakashi she was just going to keep on heading north, but she knew that there was always the chance it could be Naruto slumped against a tree, nearing death.

It wasn't. They found Hyuuga Neji, ghostly pale and gravely injured, collapsed a short distance away from another Sound ninja. Once again, Kushina checked out the enemy while Kakashi tried to determine the condition of the fallen Konoha shinobi.

Kushina confirmed that this one, too, had been killed, then straightened up and called over to Kakashi. "I think this guy has too many arms."

Kakashi didn't spare a glance her direction. "He's in bad shape." Coming closer, Kushina could see that Neji had been impaled. The injury was placed so he wouldn't die instantly, but he would die, especially if the medical corps didn't come soon. Kakashi was already pressing thick wads of gauze into a hole in the boy's chest which was nearly the size of her fist. Even as she watched, the gauze turned red beneath Kakashi's fingers.

"Damn. He's lost a lot of blood," he murmured, and turned to look up at her. "Kushina-san, hold this down for a moment."

"What are you—?" Kushina leaned in to take charge of the gauze. Kakashi closed his eye, hands locked in a ram seal. After a few seconds, green medical chakra glowed at Kakashi's fingers. Kushina backed away, and his hands replaced hers.

"I know some emergency field techniques," he grunted in answer to her raised eyebrows. "I'm nowhere near good enough to heal him, but I may be able to stop the bleeding…"

Kushina felt a glimmer of chakra on the edge of her senses. Pakkun sniffed the air and took a few steps in the direction of the trail they had been following. Both Kushina and Kakashi raised their heads to look at the small dog.

"Pakkun?" Kakashi remained crouched over Neji, the green chakra still surging from his fingertips, but Kushina's hand twitched toward her kunai holster.

"They're not enemies… I think." The dog sniffed again and looked confused.

"You _think_? That's not very comfo—" Kushina was cut off by the entrance of two more figures. These, at least, were not gravely injured—at least, they were walking under their own power. One looked vaguely familiar and wore the vest of a Konoha chuunin. The other was a blonde kunoichi bearing an enormous fan. Her forehead protector bore the symbol of Suna—the Village Hidden in the Sand. Kushina began to understand Pakkun's confusion.

"Kakashi-sensei!" The chuunin hurried over to where Kakashi was treating Neji. He seemed to take in the whole scene very quickly. "What's his condition?"

"Shikamaru-kun." Kakashi nodded, though he eyed the Suna woman warily. "Not good. There should be medical ninja on the way." Kakashi glanced at Shikamaru. "Have you located Sasuke?"

"Naruto was in pursuit," the brown-haired kid crouched beside Kakashi. "You should know, Sasuke is inside some sort of vessel that the Sound ninja were carrying."

"Vessel?" Kakashi's voice was sharp.

"Yeah. I've never seen anything like it before; they had him sealed inside like a barrel or a drum."

Kakashi's eye closed, and he suddenly looked weary. "They're preparing him for his meeting with Orichimaru... What happened to you?

"We were waylaid by Sound ninja."

"Yeah, we can tell." Kushina held up the Sound forehead protector from the first fallen ninja. "You don't look too bad off, though."

"Uzumaki-san." The Nara kid frowned a little and looked like he was going to say more when the unknown kunoichi spoke.

"That's because I rescued him. Godaime Hokage requested aid from Suna for this mission." She looked rather smug, and Shikamaru rolled his eyes and let out a soft "tch".

Kakashi and Kushina exchanged a glance. "Well, the old bat did that much, at least." Kushina looked up at the sky—it was already afternoon. Even with Sand ninja in the mix, they had sent her son off alone after the kid who had tried to kill him three days ago, and time kept on slipping by.

Kakashi sat back on his heels, the green chakra fading from his hands. "I've done all I can do. Shikamaru-kun, we need to get going. Can you two stay here and monitor Neji-kun's condition until someone arrives from Konoha?"

"Yeah, I think we can manage." Shikamaru took Kakashi's place next to Neji's prone form, looking troubled.

"Good. Pakkun? Kushina-san?"

"Hai!" The dog yipped, and Kushina nodded her readiness as they leapt back to the branches of the trees on their steady northwards course.

Kakashi seemed to be running faster than before. Kushina came up beside him on his right side so she could see the visible portion of his face.

"What's wrong, Kakashi-kun?"

A brief hesitation. "Nothing."

"Don't screw with me, Kakashi-kun. I may not be a great mom, but I sure as hell can tell when a kid lies to me."

Kakashi glanced over at her. He let a few branches pass under them before answering. "I didn't want to worry you more than necessary, but that vessel that Shikamaru-kun mentioned… if I'm right, Sasuke will have gained an enormous amount of power… power that we may be forced to deal with."

"Wait a minute, he said they had Sasuke taped in a _barrel._ How is that going to increase his power?"

"By itself, it is nothing, but… during the Chuunin Exams, Sasuke was given a curse mark… by Orochimaru. It is intended to give the bearer massive amounts of power but at a cost. It… corrupts those who draw on its power. I sealed Sasuke's mark myself so it would not interfere with his chakra, but the seal is only as strong as Sasuke's will. If he lets go… this 'barrel' will allow the curse to go to the second stage, and with that gain even more power than before—at an even higher cost."

Kushina felt her stomach roil. This Sasuke kid was already strong enough (and morally confused enough) without Orochimaru's help… how would Naruto be able to face his friend in that condition?

* * *

The air felt heavy with humidity as they continued on their flight after Sasuke. The sky was darkening in a way that had very little to do with the sun's progress in the sky.

"It's going to rain, Kakashi-kun!" Kushina shouted at the ninja speeding along at her side.

"How do you know?"

"Trust me, I'm pretty good with water."

Pakkun piped up, "She's right, it _does_ smell like it's going to—"

He stopped just then, because they quite frankly ran out of forest. All three of them landed on the ground in a clearing—a distinctly unnatural one. The trees for acres looked like they had been bulldozed or felled by an overzealous lumberjack with a very large axe.

"What the _hell_?" Kushina brought a hand to her forehead in exasperation. "There's like, miles of tree shrapnel out there! This is going to set us back like an hour or more." There was no running through that sort of terrain—not unless they wanted to lose a foot on a mutant splinter.

"Damn," Kakashi muttered. "This must be Temari-san's work."

"Who?"

"The Sand kunoichi with Shikarmaru-kun. I hear she has quite a talent with cutting wind jutsus."

"No joke."

Kakashi exhaled in a great gust. "Well, we have no other choice—unless you're not telling me something."

A thought flickered across the back of Kushina's mind. Flickered and _grinned_ at her.

Okay, there was no way that was going to work. Absolutely no way.

Except… maybe it would….

"_Hiraishin_." Kushina dared to murmur the word.

"What?" Kakashi gave her a sharp glance.

She licked her lips and spoke the word louder. "Hiraishin. Minato's _hiraishin no jutsu_."

"Do you even know how to use _hiraishin_, Kushina-san?" Kakashi's tone made her feel like she was going senile.

"Well, I was never _great_ at it, but he tried to teach it to me often enough." Kushina felt her mind click into gear, this could work: it really could. "And surely _you_ must have tracked that jutsu with your sharingan before. You're the Copy Ninja, after all."

"You do realize that you have to mark your destination before you can travel there, don't you? And that we don't exactly know where we're going?"

"We're going north! In a pretty straight line, actually."

"One can't just 'go north' with _hiraishin,_ Kushina."

"I'm aware of that, thanks." Kushina gave him a withering glare.

"Well, then what are you proposing?" Kakashi could not have sounded more skeptical if he had tried.

"He used markers to travel to, right? He'd set up shiki—like on kunai and such—and then activate the jutsu to travel there."

"Yes, and?"

"Well, he had ANBU place rite markers all over the country when he became Hokage. That way, just by remembering the proper seal and activating the jutsu, he could travel there. Added to the whole 'God of Thunder' persona."

As if on cue, a rumble sounded in the distance. All three eyed the horizon.

"I _know_ he had a shiki placed near the Valley of the End. He took me there once." Kushina resisted the urge to flush at the memory of that particular date. "That is right on the northern border of the Fire Country. If the boys kept going in this straight line the whole time, that's where they ended up. And if Sasuke is trying to cross the border, that's the most logical place to go."

"So, do you know the proper seal?" It was Pakkun who asked the essential question. The dog eyed her keenly.

"I… I think so."

"_Think_ so?" Kakashi crossed his arms.

"As in, I'm reasonably sure of it, and it's worth the risk. We're going to lose the scent trail soon anyway."

Pakkun nodded at this and tilted his head at Kakashi, leaving the decision to his summoner.

Kushina felt a single drop of rain hit her cheekbone. Kakashi looked up at the sky and turned to access his supply pouch. Wordlessly he pulled out a scroll and a brush, handing them to Kushina.

"Here you go, knock yourself out."

Kushina sat just inside the shelter of the trees, trying not to let the scroll get wet. She stared at the seal she had painted and racked her memory for any minute mark or detail she could have forgotten. The rain was a steady patter by now, and Kakashi gazed at the north, posture tense.

"Okay, I think this is it."

"Still just a think, eh?" Kakashi turned and came to study her work.

"Well, it's all I've got." She handed the scroll to Kakashi.

"So that's the seal that's present at the Valley of the End?

Kushina paused a moment, leaned over his shoulder, and lengthened one of the strokes ever so slightly. "Yes. That's it."

Kakashi let out another sigh, eyed her and rolled the scroll up, replacing it in the pouch.

"Okay?" Kushina thought he looked doubtful. Hell, she felt doubtful. But that was the seal as best as she could remember it.

"Hey, Pakkun! Let's go!" Kakashi hailed the pug, who had been sitting under a tree watching an anthill with disinterest.

As the dog trotted over, Kushina was mentally running through the hand seals used for a rudimentary form of _hiraishin_ when she suddenly felt the great weight of years clamp on to her like a leech. Her hands shook, and she had the inexplicable urge to cry.

Seeming to sense her deflating, Kakashi placed Pakkun on his shoulder and turned to her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just… I haven't attempted this jutsu since Minato died." Kushina kept her eyes trained to the north.

"Yeah." Kakashi, too, looked out toward their destination. "Yeah, me neither."

They looked at each other in shared grief and shared resolution. Then, in unison, they methodically produced the hand seals needed, visualized the seal that was their destination, and flickered out of existence.

* * *

Kushina completely lost her equilibrium upon reentry. All she could register visually was a swirl of muddy ground, murky sky, and an angry-looking boulder with a seal carefully engraved on it. Gravity and reflex kicked in simultaneously, and Kushina's hands shot out. She wound up ass-first in a puddle rather than head-first on the boulder, but her left hand was lacerated from the rocky ground, and she was dizzy.

"Shit! Ow!"

"That was very graceful, Kushina-san." Kakashi, of course, was still upright, arms crossed over his chest. Even Pakkun had managed to keep his perch atop Kakashi's shoulder. Smug bastards.

"Well, I told you I wasn't very good at it, didn't I!" Kushina made an attempt to sit up. Every other time she had performed _hiraishin_, Minato had been there to grab her elbow before she tumbled off a tree or over a cliff. She now realized that here the rain was a steady downpour. Even if she hadn't ended up in a puddle, she wouldn't have stayed dry for long.

"They're over there!" Pakkun leapt from his parrot perch to the top of the boulder, and Kakashi and Kushina both scrambled forward to join him in peering over the rock.

They were staring over a lock of hair from one of the enormous statues that stood guard over the falls and lake that dominated the scenery. Far below, near the shore of the lake, Kushina could make out a splash of color in the center of a steadily darkening field of brown. Orange and blue and red. The figures weren't moving. Kushina's heart stuttered and sped up.

_Are we already too late?_

Without thinking about her actions, Kushina vaulted over the carved stone bearing Minato's mark. She careened down the side of the cliff face, using chakra to leap from one foothold to the next. She kept her eyes trained on the boys. As they came into focus, Kushina saw the Uchiha boy leaning over her son. Naruto was splayed on the ground, at best unconscious, at worst…

…_Her Yondaime was laid out on a stretcher, his filthy hair barely reflected the early sun… She watched him, willing him to wink or to grin or something – anything. But nothing came…_

A visceral howl of grief and rage tore at her throat. Sasuke turned his head to look at the approaching banshee. Trickles of blood flowed from his nose and mouth. He staggered to his feet as Kushina approached. She wasn't sure what she was going to do to the boy once she caught him, but she knew it would be swift and violent.

Sasuke's face was a blank, disinterested mask. While Kushina was still far away, he stumbled around Naruto and broke in to a run, heading toward the trees in the north.

"NARUTO!" Kushina dropped to her knees, skidding to a rest beside her son. She couldn't figure out what to do with her hands: if she should check his pulse, or smooth the blood off his face, or just wrap him into a vicious embrace and _will_ him back to life. She bent her head and streams of stinging tears began to fall, mingling with the rainwater.

…_His face was ashen – free of all expression. That face was never free of expression, not for her…_

It could not be happening to her son… not her son too. She could not let her son die.

"Kushina-san… _Kushina-san_… **Kushina!**" The voice swam towards her through layers of emotion. She glanced up to see Kakashi kneeling on the other side of Naruto. He had one hand to the boy's pulse, and the other was shaking Kushina's shoulder.

"Kushina, he's not dead!" Kakashi was holding her gaze in his. "He's alive."

She blinked at him. But Minato _was_ dead. No, not Minato, Naruto… Naruto was alive. _Alive_.

"I need you to go after Sasuke."

"Sasuke…" Kushina tried the name, but her mind was still hazy. Why should she go after the other boy when her son was here?

"Kushina, you need to go get Sasuke. I'll take care of Naruto."

"B-but I'm not leaving him!"

"He's going to be alright. You have to go after Sasuke. You have more chakra in your reserves, so you have a better chance of success. I'll tend Naruto's wounds—I know more medical ninjutsu than you do anyway. I know you never studied healing."

Something about Kakashi's last comment made Kushina's mind begin to speed up to real time. "Hey, not all kunoichi need to specialize in medicine!" She scowled at Kakashi and noted the look of intense relief that came over his face at her reaction.

"Right—so you need to go after Sasuke." Kakashi studied her. She glanced down at her son again, seeing for the first time that his chest moved a fraction as he breathed. "He's going to be okay, Kushina-san, we'll be here when you get back."

"Right." She nodded slowly.

Kushina got to her feet and spared a final look at her son and his teacher. The green chakra was already dallying around Kakashi's fingers. Kushina dashed the tears out of her eyes, nodded again, and turned toward the forest, sprinting off after her son's attacker.

* * *

A/N - So, the use of _hiraishin_ in this chapter is the best I could extrapolate from manga. I don't know if Minato used different seals for different locations, or if Kakashi has ever tried to copy the jutsu, or if a seal can be used for more than one trip. This is just me filling in the blanks. If you know of a bit of canon that contradicts me, just let me know, and I'll try and fix it, but this is the best I can figure.

Also, you may notice that the timelines in this segment of the fic are a little... dicey. How many days were the rookies chasing Sasuke? How long was Kakashi gone on his mission? How did Kakashi reach Naruto so soon after the final confrontation if it took the genin several days to get to the Valley of the End? These are paradoxes actually present in canon - they are not of my devising. I've tried to resolve them somewhat by making the mission Kakashi and Kushina were on really short and using _hiraishin_ to help them catch up, but I am still flummoxed, so I kept my terms vague. Just bear with me, it's the best I can do.

Take the poll on my site if you want to see a certian person's POV in the next chapter!


	9. EIGHT

Gar – this chapter felt a long time in coming…

Many thanks, as always, to my beta, waiting4morning, who is made of win, even if she _**is**_ an adverb fascist and won't let me spell grey with an e instead of an a.

* * *

EIGHT

The race into the leaves was a little more desperate than Sasuke wanted to admit. His chakra reserves were next to nil; his injuries extensive. It was a wonder he had managed to get up to speed and even run away. But he was close to the border now. Somehow, he thought, if he could just make it over the border into Rice Field Country—where the Sound Village was located—he would have achieved his objective.

Just what that objective _was_ wasn't all that clear in Sasuke's mind. But he rested in the conviction that it was a step in the ladder toward revenge, and anyway, the die was cast. Way beyond cast.

Sasuke heard a sound behind him like the squeak of footsteps on wet leaves and cursed. Had Kakashi caught up with him already? He didn't know what he would do if his sensei—former sensei—caught up. Simply fighting _Naruto_ had taken all he had. To take on the infamous Hatake Kakashi in the state he was in now would be tantamount to suicide—or worse, giving up his vow to kill Itachi no matter the cost. The only thing for it was to keep running. Surely Orochimaru would have sent more than just those four Sound freaks—five counting that weird guy who Sasuke had briefly seen after popping out of the barrel.

Another step. Sasuke only had time to wrap his hand around the last kunai in his stash before an unexpected wall of water came crashing down on him. The pressure of the torrent was unrelenting—Sasuke felt like an entire ocean was being upended on his head. His knees buckled in spite of his best efforts to stay up.

"That's right you Uchiha bastard, just stay down." The voice was raspy, charged with emotion, and _female_. So it wasn't Kakashi-sensei who had followed him; it was the other. The redhead; Naruto's mother.

Recalling the expression of insane fury that had distorted Kushina's features at the Valley of the End, Sasuke almost wished for the Copy Ninja.

The water relented, and Sasuke, who was hanging onto consciousness by a thread, rolled over and scrambled to his feet in order to face his foe. Just as he shifted off the forest path, though, a flash of red accompanied by a howl of anger and the sound of thudding impact came down on the spot where he had just been laying. The woman's knee was imbedded in the mud where Sasuke's chest had been a moment earlier. A curtain of red hair, muddy and dreadlocked from the weather, concealed her face from Sasuke's view, but he could almost feel the hatred coming off her in waves like the heat of a camp fire. Sasuke stumbled back from her a few paces, kunai at the ready. The curse seal throbbed dully, excited at the prospect of further violence.

With an enormous squelching _schhhlup_, the redhead leapt to her feet, lurching a little to get her balance in the soft, slippery mire. She let out a hissing curse of pain as her ankle twisted in the mud, but she kept her feet so Sasuke couldn't take advantage of her momentary distraction. She faced him, her face down so she peered out at him under forbidding brows and straggles of red hair. Weary dark circles under her eyes were thrown into relief by the eerie grey daylight so that she looked ancient and deranged.

_She wants to kill me, _Sasuke thought grimly.

"Why are you following me? This isn't your concern!" Sasuke shouted at her. As he opened his mouth, he felt warm blood trickle out the edge of his smirk, an odd counterpoint to the chilly rain.

"Wrong-o, you little shitface!" Kushina smacked her hands together in the ram seal and then proceeded to produce a series of hand seals faster than Sasuke's normal eyes could track. "You made it my concern when you tried to kill my son–_twice_."

Sasuke activated his sharingan and immediately felt the mark on his shoulder roar with anticipation. Resisting the urge to clasp a hand over the burning brand, Sasuke gritted his teeth and dipped into his miniscule reserve of chakra to find something, anything that would defend him against this woman. A fireball would be little use against a water user, and he knew he didn't have enough chakra for chidori. The Sound ninja's warning about overusing the curse seal rang in his mind—no, he didn't dare call upon _that_ at the moment. In his split second of hesitation, the woman finished her hand seals.

"_Te Gogyou no Jutsu!"_ Kushina screamed. With that, the mud she stood in seemed to roil and spurt into life. Sasuke could see the currents of chakra building until an enormous fist of murky water sprang from her feet directly at his face. He slashed at the phantom limb with his kunai, but as soon as his fist entered the field of water, it was caught by the thick fingers of moisture and flung to the side. Sasuke felt his elbow give a sickening pop as it superextended, and he dropped the kunai in the sear of pain that shot up his arm. Before he could even recover himself, the hand of water reared up again to backhand him across the face and then pin him in a choke hold against a tree.

Sasuke struggled against the hand, but the surface tension of the water was so strong it was like struggling against steel. A couple more hands burst from the ground to pin his arms and legs. Black clouds began to seep into the corners of his vision as Kushina stepped resolutely toward him. She got to within a couple inches of his face, and Sasuke, groggy though he was, could see the murder flashing in her eyes.

A deep, indignant rage bubbled up in Sasuke's soul. The injustice of his situation made him want to spit with fury. He was bested by this woman only because he had been taken by surprise and caught with low chakra reserves and other serious injuries. Now she was going to kill him—and she didn't even know him. She wasn't really even a part of the village. She had nothing to do with him—or even with Naruto, really. And she was simply going to kill him—the last member of his clan—because she was pissed off.

He wanted to harangue the woman for her idiocy or maybe try to talk her into letting him go in the name of vengeance. A sputtered "You bitch…" was all he could manage. He could hear the harsh rasping of his own breath. He struggled against the watery restraints. He saw her lift a scarred hand and thought bitterly, _this is it._

But she didn't produce a kunai to slit his throat or clasp her fingers into a new seal for some other deadly jutsu. Instead she just pulled back her fist and swung.

Then he really did pass out.

* * *

When Sasuke awoke, his entire face seemed to be throbbing, and he felt distinctly uncomfortable. He then realized that the fact that he still felt discomfort at all was a sign that he wasn't dead, and a stupid, childish relief played through his mind.

He then noticed that he was moving—but not of his own accord. Opening his eyes a slit, he was confused by the jumble of motion that met his gaze. He could see a foot that wasn't his moving; waving back and forth—no, walking. Well, limping at any rate. There was also rope, and arms tied in that rope—wait, those were _his_ arms—two of them were at least. There was a third arm, holding his in place, which bore a forehead protector tied across the bicep. He didn't recognize the symbol, and Sasuke felt a moment's hope that maybe another ninja had been sent from Sound to collect him. Then a strand of wet red hair flapping across his vision disabused him of that notion. He was trussed up and slung across the back of Uzumaki Kushina, being carried like a wayward lamb back to Konoha. Judging by her limp, though, she had injured her ankle in the mud, so there was still a chance that they hadn't gone too far yet.

Sasuke resisted the immediate urge to squirm and flail and shout like an idiot would— like Naruto would. Instead he kept his body relaxed and tried to determine if the ropes were loose enough for him to produce hand seals. They weren't, but he could probably manage to elbow the woman in the face as long as he took her by surprise. Unfortunately, the elbow that would be doing the striking was the elbow that had been injured earlier. That was a good way to do permanent damage to himself. Oh well, it could very well be the only means of escape.

"Don't even think about it, asshole." The woman's voice forced Sasuke to pause in his train of thought. "I know you're awake." She jostled him, roughly repositioning him on her back. Sasuke felt all his injuries more keenly again, and a groan escaped unbidden from his lips.

"Yeah, yeah, tell me about it…" She muttered, as if responding to an articulate complaint. Sasuke felt her stop uneven gait, shift her arms from their positions on Sasuke's limbs and heave an enormous shrug. Sasuke's world of foot, arms, ropes, and hair was upended, and he landed on his back on a patch of muddy grass. The fall wasn't far, but it still managed to make Sasuke's head swim. He was now gazing up at a collection of tree tops and a strangely bright, after-the-storm sky.

"I need a break anyway."

Kushina seized Sasuke by the shoulders and wrestled him upright so he was leaning against a tree, facing her. She backed off before he could try to take her down with his legs. Instead, she stood just out of range and studied him as she pulled out a roll of tape from her ninja pouch to wrap her ankle. Sasuke glared.

"So." Sasuke tried his voice— it was tight and dry. He could only manage a whisper. He frowned, licked his lips, and tried again. "So what happens now? Don't have what it takes to kill your loser son's friend?" He coughed a little—his chest felt constricted.

Kushina glared right back at him, checking the tightness of the wrap on her ankle. "Idiot. You're really not in any position to be calling other people 'loser'. You went down pretty easily. Besides, you've got it backwards; I'm doing this because you're my friend's son, not just because you're my son's friend."

Something about that didn't seem quite right, but Sasuke didn't want to give her the satisfaction of asking what the hell she meant. He also resisted the urge to point out that he was practically unconscious when she had found him, so it had hardly been a fair fight. Instead he lowered his eyebrows a fraction of an inch and held her gaze with menace.

To his surprise, Kushina let out a burst of laughter. "Shit, brat, you look just like her when you pout like that."

"Huh?" Sasuke gave out a grunt—maybe if she kept talking, he could use her distraction to loosen his leg ropes. He nonchalantly dropped his tied hands between his knees and tested the loops around his ankles with his numb fingertips. She had been ruthless with her knots—but if he could just weaken them a little with the thimbleful of chakra he had left….

"Keep your hands where I can see them, asshole." She delivered the warning in a pleasant, conversational tone, and Sasuke shot her another glare as he moved his fingers away from the ropes. The movement sent new waves of pain up his arm. That elbow had to be broken.

"We were friends back in the day—your mom and me."

"What?" Sasuke couldn't conceal the sharp tone of interest in his voice. How was that possible? She had only come to the village like a month ago.

The redhead smirked again, tearing the tape with her teeth and securing the end on the wrap around her ankle. "Yeah, I know I'm not really the 'schmooze with the Uchihas' type. Mikoto—your mom, I mean—ran in some pretty different circles than I did later in life. After she married into that clan of pompous peacocks. But she was always a good sort of person." Kushina eyed him as if trying to locate some sign of that 'goodness' in Sasuke. She scowled and glanced away.

"Even after everything happened, and I was getting ready to leave the village, she came by to see me once. Brought a casserole." Kushina laughed as if casseroles were the silliest food imaginable. "She tried to talk to me, but I was too pissed—I had a one-track mind. I was so focused on… righting past wrongs. Ha!" She said the last sentence or two with self-loathing dripping off every syllable.

Sasuke studied her, eyes still narrowed. "What in hell are you talking about, you bitch?" The situations were hardly parallel, and Sasuke resented the implied comparison. He also resented the slight to the Uchihas. What did she know about his mother anyway?

"Will you shut up and listen, or should I just kill you after all?" Kushina glanced at him again, and Sasuke saw a flicker of that murderous light still in her eyes—warning him not to test her mercy. "It doesn't fix anything—leaving. It just makes more problems. And trust me, there's no coming back after something like this. At least not easily.…" Her voice trailed off, and she fiddled with the straggling end of tape she'd torn off.

Sasuke diverted his eyes from the redhead. Did she presume that he had made this decision lightly? Or that he really intended to be able to come back some day? He knew this was the end of all that. That even if he willingly came back with her now, they wouldn't ever trust him again. He knew when he had let those Sound freaks put him in the barrel that he was burning his bridges. Even now, the seal prickled, hungry for the death of the woman who spoke to him, yearning for destruction, gleeful in his despair. And even aside from that, the thirst for revenge was too strong. If he let himself become complacent, content, then _He_ would never pay. Perhaps it was well that this woman had mentioned his mother—it reminded him of what Itachi had done to her, to all of them. It reminded Sasuke of the reason for his hatred. He was lost for a moment in blood-red musings.

"I'm just sayin' think about it, is all," Kushina said into his dark memories. "If you think you can't have peace without revenge—that things will never be right without retribution, well, then you're even more of an idiot than I think. Revenge isn't going to give you peace, it's going to break you—steal what little happiness you have. Looks like it's already done that." She stood up again, sermon delivered, and tested her ankle gingerly before frowning down on him.

"Like I have a choice in the matter." Sasuke stared daggers at the presumptuous woman and raised his bound wrists in demonstration. What was the point of giving him a choice if she was just going to take him back to Konoha? Sasuke felt bruised by her words, and the curse mark asked anxiously for enough chakra to be released to the second level for just enough time to kill and escape.

"You always have a choice in the matter, don't be daft." She was deliberately not catching the reference to his current lack of freedom. "After all, you didn't kill my son."

No, he hadn't killed Naruto.

"Well, that wasn't for lack of trying." Sasuke's petulant retort seemed to pierce his own soul. It was both false and humiliating, he _had_ intended to leave Naruto alive, and he _could_ have killed the blond moron if he'd wanted to. But he didn't want this woman parading the fact out as a sample of his lingering humanity. Even leaving Naruto alive had been more about thumbing his nose at Itachi than about sympathy for his former best friend. At least that was his rationalization for it.

In any case, the jab worked its magic on Kushina. No sooner were the words out of Sasuke's mouth, than the sympathetic maternal softening in Kushina's face dissipated, and she regained her cold kunoichi attitude. "Well, if that's the way of things, maybe you're not so much like Mikoto as I thought."

The redhead stepped forward, grabbed Sasuke's bound arms and yanked him to his feet. He teetered a little where he stood because his legs were still bound, but before he toppled, Kushina threaded her arm between his and hauled him across her shoulders again. She took no care of his injured elbow, tugging on it to pull him up. He felt a wave of nausea, and the black clouds threatened to overtake him again.

"I'm still bringing you back—that's the mission, after all."

Sasuke groaned a little, he could feel the blood rushing back into his face as his pain and exhaustion threatened to drag him back under consciousness again.

"Oh, shaddup. I'm sick to death of you, brat." Kushina shifted him on her back again. "How many people need to kick your ass before you'll listen to reason?"

Sasuke felt like giving her a witty retort, but no zingers came to his pain-fogged mind, so he remained in sullen silence. Kushina took a few resolute steps back on their way south when Sasuke heard a familiar whirring whistle from behind them, followed by a number of thunking impacts. Suddenly, Kushina's capable arms went lax, and she crumbled to her knees, jarring Sasuke on her way down. She collapsed forward, cursing as she went, and Sasuke flew over her head to go tumbling across the muddy grass. He rolled with the impact until a tree stopped him by striking him in the small of his back.

Dizzy and pained, Sasuke blinked rapidly to try to clear his vision. He saw Kushina on all fours, her red hair dangling into the mud. A number of senbon were jutting from Kushina's back along her spine. She was breathing heavily and struggling to her feet. Sasuke tried to focus his eyes beyond Kushina to the unknown aggressor.

The figure that emerged from the trees was oddly familiar and completely out of place. He picked his way into the clearing, delicately avoiding some bushes. He tossed his head back, shifting his shaggy gray bangs, and pushed the round glasses up the edge of his nose with two fingers. His eyes came into focus. It was Kabuto, the older genin from the Chuunin exams. He had helped Team 7 in the forest—but why was he wearing the symbol of the Sound? Sasuke's thought processes felt sluggish and confused. He recognized the signs of another impending blackout.

"Don't look so shocked, Sasuke-kun. Orochimaru-sama places a high priority on your safekeeping." The man gave a little smirk and drew a few more senbon.

"You tell that snake he can't have him." Kushina staggered to her feet and rounded on Kabuto. The sinking sun was directly behind her, and her red hair seemed to shine in a nimbus around her head. Sasuke blinked and suddenly it wasn't Kushina, but Naruto he saw, stuck with senbon, yelling his defiance to a cold, masked, ice-wielding shinobi.…

"Uzumaki Kushina says you're out of luck," she said, swaying on her feet. The senbon, obviously, were poisoned, but her voice still rang out boldly. "He may be a little prick, but he's a son of Konoha, and you're gonna to have to get past me first!"

Sasuke, his battered heart slightly touched by these words, stared at the fiery silhouette of Naruto's mother and had just enough time to marvel at the pure jets of water that were springing up at her feet before the darkness overtook him again.

* * *

A/N: Wowee, this chapter was a pain and a half to write. I've never tried to write Sasuke's POV before, and (in all honesty) I was hoping to get out of it, but you guys wouldn't let me. Curses!

Props to the one person who requested Kabuto's POV on my profile poll – way to think outside the box, whoever you are! I still think that would have made a fun (if confusing) chapter. I mean, seriously, he's got about the murkiest motivation ever.

Now for the business. I know that there are a lot of opinions about Sasuke out there – completely apart from this fic. He's a divisive character, which is part of the reason I dreaded writing him. That said, I'm glad with how the chapter turned out, and I really hope you don't decide to leave a hatey comment just because you dislike the character (or are obsessed with him – either way). As always, though, I cherish those reviews that contain constructive feedback, and if something seems off, please let me know!

PS – I never claimed to be able to speak Japanese, so Kushina's watery hand jutsu is probably utter bullocks. If you happen to actually speak the language and can suggest a less asinine name for it, be my guest! :)


	10. NINE

Phew, we are nearing the end, my friends... but don't worry, we aren't there yet.

* * *

NINE

Sakura continued to wander around the hospital. The familiar sterility was somehow comforting, and most of the people she knew were there—if not injured themselves, then visiting their injured comrades. Maybe, in part, she was expecting to enter one of the rooms and see Sasuke sitting there, beautiful face set in a characteristic scowl at her appearance.

But he didn't show. The rooms kept filling up with people, but he wasn't one of them. Those Sand shinobi even showed up, but Sakura kept her distance and waited. Kakashi-sensei and Naruto were still out there somewhere. There was hope, and while there was hope, Sakura would linger in the hospital, waiting for them.

It never occurred to her that the rest of Team 7 would end up somewhere _other_ than the hospital. Sakura knew for a fact that Sasuke would not come back easily, but if anyone could do it, it was Naruto.

And he had promised….

About a week ago, Shizune caught Sakura following one of the overworked nurses around and had requisitioned her to hold down the ankles of a little, writhing academy student while Shizune removed bits of gravel from the kid's face—a souvenir from sparring with a particularly sadistic partner. It had been disgusting and troubling and satisfying all at once, and Sakura had followed Shizune around since then—when she could actually _locate_ the Hokage's companion, that is. The hospital staff seemed to accept her position as Shizune's acolyte, though Sakura still had to learn not to succumb to fits of intimidation when Tsunade—the princess, the healer, the _Hokage_—was there as well.

She stopped at the bridge over the river before heading in to the hospital that morning. She somehow felt that the antiseptic smells of gauze, antidotes, and medical seal ink was infiltrating her psyche—not maliciously but inexorably. Some fresh air was in order. She stared at the steady gush of water passing under her feet and let her mind wander. What would happen if they _never_ came back? If she lost _all_ the members of her team in one fateful turn of events? If only she wasn't so _useless, _could they have been spared? Sakura shook her head as if to free it from the gloom that she felt hanging overhead.

So, looking at it rationally—looking at it practically: what _could_ she do? A tiny seed of resolution planted itself in the back of Sakura's mind to be inspected and cultivated at a later date.

"Sakura!" She jerked her head around at the sound of Ino's shrill voice. The blonde girl was running toward her, hair and arms flapping in excitement. "Everyone's back! They're all at the hospital! Come on!"

Everyone's back… _Everyone's_ back. Sakura bolted after her friend and rival as soon as she had processed the words.

* * *

In the hospital, Ino ran off to see Chouji, and Sakura blazed her way to the room that a nurse had indicated was Naruto's. Nobody mentioned Sasuke, and Sakura's throat was too tight with anxiety to ask. But surely Naruto would be able to point her to Sasuke's room. She fervently hoped the knucklehead hadn't gotten himself too gravely injured.

Her hand was hovering above the handle to the door when she heard Naruto's voice from inside.

"…yeah, he got away." It was the tone of Naruto's voice as much as his words that rattled Sakura, arrested her thought processes, and made her hand drop to her side. She had never heard him sound so hopeless. Naruto hopeless was not something that Sakura had ever seen or ever wished to see.

And he got away—she knew who 'he' must refer to.

"Geez, news sure travels fast… you're Haruno Sakura, right?" That voice didn't come from inside the room; it came from down the hall. Sakura glanced up and her eyes widened a fraction at the sight of Tsunade. The Godaime came right up to the door to Naruto's room and seized the handle herself, sliding it to the side to reveal the room beyond. Naruto was chatting with Shikamaru, but both boys looked up, startled by the appearance of the two females.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto's bright eyes were fixed on her—peering out of a mass of bandages.

"Naruto…"

Her teammate averted his eyes, and an awkward moment of silence settled on the odd company, to be broken by Tsunade. "I heard you were severely injured. You seem okay to me."

As if the Hokage hadn't even spoken, Naruto kept his eyes fixed on his blanket and spoke again. "I'm sorry… Sakura-chan…"

"What are you apologizing for?" Sakura deflected the boy's words with a shrug and a plastic smile. Her voice sounded loud and citrusy. She just knew she didn't want to hear Naruto blaming himself for this. After all, the burden wasn't all his to begin with. If Sakura had tried harder that night…

Naruto, stubborn as ever, began to speak again, but Sakura began a stream of blithe babble about the state of his bandages and the beautiful sunlight and how the window should be open. Anything to get the idiot to shut up. She moved over to the window and twitched the curtains aside, preparing to start in on her thoughts about their pattern of fabric, but he cut her off.

"Sakura-chan, I will still keep my promise! I said it was the promise of a lifetime, and I meant it!" He shouted so she couldn't possibly talk about curtains anymore.

Sakura leaned against the window sill, feeling defeated. "It's all right, Naruto, I don't expect you to…"

"Sakura, he's trying to—" Shikamaru broke in, tone even more annoyed than usual.

"_I'm trying to say_—" Naruto spoke over the chuunin to make himself heard. "I'm not going back on my word—that's my ninja way!"

Sakura turned to face him, biting her lower lip. He was grinning—the same toothy smile that he always shot her. That smile could never be hopeless.

That smile seemed to knock something loose in Sakura's mind. She stared at him for a moment, the seeds of resolution sprouting in her own soul. It also reminded her of something….

"How is your mother? Kushina-san?" The acid-sweet tone was gone, so no one tried to shut Sakura up this time. Instead, Naruto's smile melted and he looked puzzled, as if he hadn't remembered the redhead's existence till that moment.

"My… mother? She…"

"She went after Sasuke." Tsunade spoke up, obviously the most informed individual in the room.

"She's not back yet?" Sakura glanced at the Hokage in surprise.

"Wait! She was gone in the first place?" Naruto almost sounded offended by this fact—whether because he was left out of the loop or because of Kushina's behavior, Sakura couldn't tell.

"Well, Kakashi had to return with you, brat, so he sent some medical ninja to follow her trail." Tsunade crossed her arms. "She was brought in about an hour ago."

A rampaging bramble of hope suddenly grew in Sakura's chest, piercing her soul. Perhaps Kushina-san, that woman who had seemed so strong, so sure of things, would be the one to bring back Sasuke-kun when no one else could. Perhaps the mission hadn't been a failure after all, and Naruto would be able to rest knowing that the job he had started had been completed. Maybe this would cement mother and son together in a new bond of camaraderie and familial affection! Where things had been strained—Sakura wasn't blind, she could see when things were strained—there would be no more tension, and Team 7 could be complete again, with a new, Uzumaki-improved Sasuke-kun!

Then again, maybe male ego would get in the way. Sakura couldn't help but notice that Naruto did not look hopeful—he looked perplexed, worried, and a little offended.

"She was poisoned," Tsunade continued, "but she's been stabilized. I was actually coming to see if you wanted to be there when I ask her about Sasuke's whereabouts." Tsunade turned toward the door. "Whenever you're ready, she's in room 23."

The Hokage exited the room, and Sakura's hope shriveled and stung. She turned back to Naruto; he had leaned back against the headboard of the bed and was studying the ceiling, face vacant.

"Hey, Shikamaru, how are the others? Chouji, Neji, Kiba, and Bushy Brow?" Naruto leveled his eyes to the chuunin.

Shikamaru seemed to take the shift in conversation in stride. "Lee is fine; a little tired I guess, but no threatening injuries. Chouji, Neji, and Kiba were pretty beat up, but they're going to be okay, I think."

"Naruto, aren't you—" Sakura cut in.

"Tch. Give it a rest, Sakura." Shikamaru closed his eyes in aggravation, leaning back in his chair. Sakura resented the intrusion and had the sudden urge to dropkick Shikamaru clear out the window.

She settled for snapping at him. "No, I won't! Naruto, why don't you—"

Naruto cut her off with a holler. "I don't _know_, okay?" He bit his lip and Sakura could see moisture gathering in the corners of his eyes. "I don't know if I'm angry, or… or sad… or disappointed." His voice cracked. "Shit, I may even be relieved. Dammit…" Naruto scowled, scrubbing at his eyes with a bandaged arm. "What the hell was she doing following me in the first place?"

Later that day, upon reflection, Sakura was stunned by the fact that Naruto was toting around such complex emotions, but at that moment, she was more annoyed that he was willfully ignoring the solution. "Well, go talk to her; she'll probably tell you!"

Naruto looked tearfully dubious, and Shikamaru just closed his eyes and muttered something that sounded like "women" and "troublesome".

"Oh, you idiot boys! Why are you making this so complicated? C'mere!" Sakura grabbed Naruto's hand where it rested in a fist on the hospital blanket and yanked on his arm. Naruto, seemingly stunned at Sakura's attack, grabbed on to the opposite side of the mattress before he could tumble out of the bed.

"Ow-ow! Sakura-chan! What are you doing?"

"You're not _that_ injured, now get on your feet!"

Before Shikamaru could do more than look annoyed, Sakura had Naruto, swathed in bandages and hospital pjs, standing and was leading him to the door.

She towed the stunned blond down the hall to room 23, rapped on the door and slid it aside, indicating that Naruto should enter first. He didn't move but instead looked in on the room. The curtains around the bed were drawn, but Sakura could see the shadow of a figure sitting next to the bed.

"Come in." The Hokage's crisp tones jarred the two genin into motion. They filed in through a gap in the curtain and Sakura glanced at the bed.

Kushina-san was lying down, eyes half opened. Her skin, especially in contrast with her overabundance of red hair, had a slight greenish tinge and her breathing seemed shallow. Sakura glanced over at Naruto. His mouth was open and his brows knitted. He took a jerky step forward and rested a hand on the foot of Kushina's bed.

"Naruto—" The croak that came out of the woman wasn't as feeble as Sakura anticipated, and she at once adjusted her opinion of the woman's condition. Kushina was stable, after all: Tsunade-sama had said so.

"H-hi…" Naruto didn't seem know what to say, he looked away and Kushina's expression softened a little. She turned her head a fraction of an inch toward Tsunade.

"In response to your question: the Sound ninja who attacked us was in his 20s—long, grayish hair. Damned prissy-looking glasses." She managed a scowl. "He seemed fairly accomplished at medical ninjutsu." The description rang a bell in the back of Sakura's mind, but the faces of both Naruto and Tsunade were suddenly flooded with recognition. They even went so far as to exchange a glance.

"_That_ bastard came after you?!" Naruto shouted as he leaned over the foot of the bed.

"Yeah, but I'm afraid with a broken ankle and his freaky poisoned senbon, I wasn't able to fend him off for long. He snatched Sasuke and left me to die." Her grave expression brightened a little. "I broke his glasses though!"

"He _snatched_ Sasuke? That's interesting word choice, Kushina-san." Tsunade had her fingers interlaced in front of her and peered at the redhead with interest.

"Yeah, well, he didn't bother to untie him first. Sasuke didn't seem too happy about it either way."

"So, in your opinion, Sasuke could be going back to Sound against his own will?"

Kushina licked her dry, pale lips and glanced at Naruto and Sakura before looking back at the Hokage. "I… can't be sure, Tsunade-hime. He sure as hell didn't want to come with me either." She blinked slowly and took a deep breath. "I tried to talk to him, but he wasn't having any of it. I guess I should have known, after what he did to Naruto…" Her voice trailed off and it seemed like fire flashed across her eyes. She set her jaw. "I'm sorry, Naruto… so sorry… I-I failed you. Again." She blinked more rapidly and looked at the ceiling. Tears seeped out of her eyes to trail across her cheekbones to rest in her hair, but they seemed more tears of fury than sorrow.

"Next time, don't stop to fight, just grab the kid and run." Tsunade stood up and adjusted her blouse.

"Well, if that had been an option, I would have been all for it." Kushina's bloodshot eyes narrowed. "You still think I'm a spy or something?"

"No, I'm satisfied." Tsunade gave a grim smile and turned to Sakura. "You two need to get out of here and let Kushina-san rest. She's still in pretty bad shape."

"H-hai, Tsunade-sama!" Sakura gave a little nod—it felt like an order coming from the Hokage, and Sakura treated it as such, turning to grab Naruto's arm.

"Just a little longer… please Tsunade-sama?" Kushina raised one of her hands and waved it around feebly to get the Hokage's attention. "Help a sister out, lady…" A teasing smirk played on the woman's lips, at odds with her weak voice and shocking, tearful appearance.

To Sakura's surprise, Tsunade's expression softened a bit at the redhead's wheedling. "Hmph—not too much longer." She gave Sakura a meaningful glance before leaving the room as if transferring to her the responsibility of the situation.

"Hey kid, sit down before you fall down." Kushina sniffled a little and nodded Naruto toward a chair. "You took a beating, so take it easy, whydontcha?"

"I'm not—I don't…"

"Sit down, Naruto." The boy obeyed his mother, settling himself reluctantly in the chair Tsunade had vacated. Kushina reached her hand across the blankets as if wishing to clasp the boy's hand. Naruto didn't respond, so Kushina weakly plucked at the sheets instead. She squeezed her eyes shut.

"I'm sorry, Naruto," she repeated, "I won't fail you again... I promise."

Naruto raised his eyes—they were wide and shining—toward his mother's face. "B-but, it isn't your fight. You don't even know him, it… it wasn't your business." Naruto's nose wrinkled as if he disliked the smell of that phrase.

"You're my son. Of course it's my business when someone tries to kill my—my son!" Kushina turned away, her eyelids sliding shut. "Besides, you don't have to bear this task alone, Naruto."

The seeds of thought that had been planted at the bridge and taken root in Naruto's hospital room seemed to sprout new leaves now in Sakura's mind. Why _should_ Naruto bear this task alone? Wasn't Sasuke as much her responsibility as anyone's?

"I'm here to back you kiddo—is that alright? Will you let me? Even though I've sucked at it up until now?" Tears cascaded down Kushina's face, and she gripped the sheets until her knuckles went white. "Will you let me… try… to be your mother?"

Naruto didn't say anything, but he stammered as if looking for words. Eventually, face screwed up in a knot of tears, he reached out and grabbed the sick woman's hand where it lay. She gripped his hand just as fiercely as she had gripped the sheets and a smile broke through the tears.

"C'mere, fish cake!" The woman pulled Naruto out of his seat and both mother and son tumbled into an enthusiastic, if bandaged embrace.

Sakura backed away a little, not wanting to ruin the moment with her own thoughts, and exited via the curtains to store up her words for later.

_Next time, Naruto, you won't be alone at all, you'll have me there too. I _will_ get stronger_.

Sakura noiselessly left the room and went to find the Hokage. She had some matters to discuss with the legendary healer.

* * *

A/N: In an alternate, cracktastic version of this chapter, the entire cast of Naruto comes in to the hospital room for a show-stopping, Broadway-style musical number, complete with kick line and sequined top hats!

_See, Naruto, we came to say_

_The time for angst has gone away._

_She's not so bad, she tried real hard._

_And hey! She's family, you tard!_

_She'll understand! She'll help you train!_

_Wait three more years and try again!_

_Cause, sure your friend is gone and shit_

_But still, go see your mom, idiot._

Kakashi gets a solo on the fourth line! (You'll have to excuse my fits of absurdity – all this drama seems to be getting to me. Be glad I restrict it to author's notes…)

_You shooooooould go seeeeeeeeeeeee your MOOOOOOOOOOOOM_!!


	11. TEN

Shorter chapter – I guess denouement doesn't take up as much space as plot…

This, the final chapter of Regrets, is brought to you with help from my ever-classy beta –waiting4morning, the new album from the Raconteurs – Consolers of the Lonely, the letter K, and the number 23.

Also, to all the blokes and ladies that have read/reviewed/faved this fic: you are all better than homemade bread – and I really enjoy homemade bread, so that's quite a compliment. Thanks for all your support on this fic! It's been fun!

* * *

TEN

Kushina had checked the packs on the bunk bed at least six times—probably more—to make sure she hadn't missed anything. She didn't know why she was checking so often—there weren't any places for her possessions to be hiding in barracks room. It wasn't like she had much to her name to begin with, but the nervous energy which permeated her had to go somewhere, and she could only reasonably do so many pushups to dispel it.

When the time came, she slung the travel pack across her back and picked up the box of oddments which would not be joining her on her journey. The box held an economy-sized container of q-tips; a broken stapler; a plush koala which was now looking rather ragged; a dog-eared copy of one of Jiraiya's first books with a string of photo-booth pictures holding a page about three-quarters of the way through; a couple packs of instant ramen—spicy shrimp flavor; and some clumpy lavender nail polish.

Normally, she would have found space for these items in her pack (at least for the book and the ramen, the stapler may have been pitched) but she deliberately packed the bag loosely this time. As it was, the collection held enough emotional weight for it to be a wrench to leave it. This was her anchor, her bit of self to be left in Konoha for retrieval at a later date. To avoid further deliberation, Kushina folded up the top flaps of the box and walked out of the Konoha barracks, only just remembering to switch off the light to the room as she shut the door behind her.

On her way across town, she felt not exactly conspicuous but very visible. However, as she had no particular reason to be _stealthy, _she still used the road, still smiled at those she passed—a few of whom smiled back.

"Kushina-san!"

Kushina whirled around, unconsciously shifting the box to under one arm and widening her stance. A familiar chuunin trotted toward Kushina.

"Iruka-san." Kushina gave him a half-smile. She still wasn't sure how to react to Naruto's former teacher. Being in his presence made her feel like she was about to be scolded. All the same, she paused to wait for him to catch up.

"I heard you are leaving today?" He came even with her and skidded to a stop, folding his arms across his chest.

"Yeah." Kushina rattled the box by way of demonstration. "I was just heading over to Naruto's apartment to store a few things, then we're heading out."

"Do you mind if I join you? I wanted to see Naruto off."

"Sure." Kushina fell into step beside Iruka, picking at the corner of the cardboard box as she walked. Mentally flailing for conversation, she asked a question to which she already knew the answer. "You're still working at the Academy, right?"

"That's right." A fond smirk came across Iruka's face, and he watched his feet for a few paces. "It's nice to get back to teaching—though we missed a ridiculous amount of class time and the students are behind now. I'll have to be extra tough on them if anyone is going to graduate this year."

"Haha. Oh they're going to _love_ that." Kushina chuckled a little at the mental image of hoards of overworked almost-genin ganging up on their harried chuunin instructor.

"So this… mission. Is it going to keep you all on the road for a while?" Iruka shoved his hands in his pockets and pursed his lips.

"That's my understanding. A couple of years – as long as it takes Jiraiya-sama and me to whip Naruto into shape… and find out a little more about what Akatsuki is up to." Kushina shrugged. "Honestly, I'm not the mastermind behind this little venture, the pervy sage is. I'm just there because I helped catch the informant that gave us our first lead—and because of Naruto."

Iruka gave her an intent glance. "He requested that you come with him for the training?"

Something about the way Iruka stressed the word "requested" hit Kushina uncomfortably. But she allowed herself to dwell on the pleasantness of the memory rather than Iruka's skepticism.

"Yeah, he did. Flat told the old pervert he wanted me along and he'd have to deal. I understand he gave the same speech to Godaime as well."

"Hm. Well, he's a pretty determined kid."

"Yep, he is." Kushina fiddled some more with the corner of the box. The cardboard was beginning to peel.

"So, I bet you're glad to be leaving Konoha again…"

Kushina narrowed her eyes at the chuunin beside her. "Not especially, no."

"Well, I figured that—" Iruka stopped mid-sentence, took a deep breath, and released it. When he spoke again, his tone was calmer, more deliberate. "I'm glad you're able to travel with your son now."

"Yes, so am I."

"He's a good kid, you know."

"Heh – so I've heard."

"Though, be aware – sometimes you have to shout at him three or four times before he remembers a direct order. And he doesn't always grasp abstract concepts very quickly, but when he gets it, he grabs on with both hands and _gets_ it, y'know?"

Kushina laughed. "Yeah, I know, Iruka-san. I know." She glanced over at the chuunin and saw him nod his head slowly. "I'm glad you caught up with me Iruka-san, I wanted to say thank you."

"Oh?" Iruka's forehead wrinkled in confusion.

"Yeah – for watching out for the brat while I was off doing… whatever it is I was doing." Kushina tore off a bit of the cardboard and flicked it at the dirt road. "A lot of people were shitheads to him—"

"Yourself included?"

"Yeah, okay, that's true enough." Kushina cleared her throat, fixed her jaw, and stopped in the dirt road. Iruka halted too and turned toward her. "In any case, you were different—for whatever reason, you kept the shithead behavior to a minimum and took care of him. Thanks for that."

"My pleasure." Iruka granted her a small smile and turned back to the road.

Comfortable silence reigned for about a block, and Iruka spoke up again. "So… you sure you really want to spend _years_ in the company of your son and Jiraiya-sama?"

Kushina feigned a shudder and chuckled a little. "Yeah, well, I'd prefer it if it was just me and the kid, but I guess there's some logic behind this arrangement. This way we'll be able to split up, if we have to—we can be more aggressive about tracking down Akatsuki while making sure Naruto is protected the whole time." Kushina rolled her eyes. "The Pervert agreed to it when I pointed out it would give him more freedom to go off on short 'research trips'."

"And maybe it will shorten the time the whole mission takes."

"Yeah, that's the idea. Either way, we've gotta be back in three years—before Orochimaru is able to do his soul transferring thingy to Sasuke." Kushina shifted the box over to her hip—she had torn a hole in the box with her fidgeting. "Since Naruto's main goal is to rescue the Uchiha…"

They approached Naruto's apartment building. Iruka opened the door and stood back, allowing Kushina to pass. She smiled her thanks and trotted up the stairs. Naruto was folding his bed sheets—very badly—and throwing them into a closet.

"You just about ready?" Kushina said.

"Yep! I've got everything packed… Iruka-sensei!" A grin split the twelve-year-old's face upon seeing the chuunin enter the apartment.

Iruka stepped forward and crossed his arms, smiling. "This place looks cleaner than usual…"

"It is! I cleaned all day! I didn't want to leave it a wreck or anything." Naruto glanced at Kushina. "How much time do we have? I'd like to get a last bowl of Ichiraku before we leave! Come with me, Iruka-sensei?"

"We're supposed to be meeting to leave in half an hour—you can make it if you hurry."

"Let's go!" Naruto shoved the chuunin toward the door. "Come on, Iruka-sensei! Ramen time!"

Kushina chuckled. The kid would probably wrangle a free meal out of the teacher, but Iruka didn't seem to pick up on it. He mostly looked happy and flustered. They were almost out the door when Kushina called out to them.

"Oy, Naruto! Can I store this stuff here?" She held the box out in front of her.

"Sure, Mom, whatever. I'll see you in a bit." Naruto gave a wave of casual dismissal and began to drag Iruka down the hallway. Kushina could hear him chattering about the comparative merits of ramen flavors as they neared the stairwell.

Kushina shook her head at the wonder of that flippant wave and turned toward the apartment. She set the box on the counter, walked over to the closet, and pulled out a sheet to refold it. She stepped to the window and glanced down at the retreating duo of ramen enthusiasts. With a private smile, she stacked the refolded sheets in the closet, and followed them with the box of oddments. She closed the door, turned to leave, paused, and turned back toward the closet.

Retrieving the box, Kushina opened it and pulled out the old book of Jiraiya's. The margins were packed with handwriting, and certain phrases were highlighted. Fanning the pages, Kushina slipped the string of photos from its position and replaced the book and the box. She walked to the refrigerator and peeled a cheap frog magnet from its position with her fingernails. She affixed the pictures to the door with the magnet, positioning it so the frog and Minato were eyeing one another comically. Chuckling, she dropped her hands and admired her work.

_Minato looks out of frame (at the frog), a tricky grin on his face._

_Minato has hands up and is laughing as Kushina charges the frame, a disheveled mass of hair and pregnant belly._

_Minato blissfully buries his face in a handful of Kushina's hair while she looks at the camera._

_Both place their hands on Kushina's stomach and look at it. "First family portrait" is scrawled across the bottom._

"I think we're going to be okay, my love."

Kushina tooled around the apartment, catching things her son had missed. She emptied a small container of milk down the drain, threw away a few leftovers in the fridge, and checked the locks on the windows, pausing to glance at the photos every so often. They seemed at home there. Shouldering her pack and nodding to herself, Kushina exited the apartment, closing the door behind her.

FIN

* * *

A/N: And so ends the longest piece of fiction—fanbased or otherwise—that I have written in my life. Maybe now that I've built up some authorial stamina, I can, y'know, write the Great American Novel or something… bwahaha!

A note on timelines: I am choosing _not_ to address the filler episodes, one way or another. You can pretend this chapter takes place several months after chapter NINE and imagine all kinds of family bonding hijinks taking place in the gap, or you can go with the manga timeline and say this chapter is directly after the Sasuke retrieval arc. Your call.

Thanks, dear readers, for sticking with me to the end! Let me know what you think!


	12. OMAKE!

Here's a little bonus vignette written by the lovely and talented waiting4morning. For those of you who don't know, omakes are those little comic shorts that you get after watching an episode of anime. Enjoy!

* * *

OMAKE!

"So, 'kashi," Kushina said through a mouth full of ramen, eyeing the silver-haired young man on the stool beside her, "when are you going to settle down?"

Kakashi's single visible eye looked up at her over the rim of his usual book. "Settle down?"

Kushina slurped more noodles; they made a wet, smacking sound as they traveled to her mouth. "Yeah. Why don't you find a nice kunoichi and start popping out little ninja babies. How old are you? Twenty-four? You're way past due! Teuchi-niisan," she said, turning to the ramen chef wiping down the counter, "what do you say?"

"Hmm." The gray-haired chef looked Kakashi over with a critical eye. "What about Mitarashi Anko-san? She's about his age."

"Anko-san? The purple-haired, fishnet shirt one? Hmm." Kushina stirred her ramen bowl with her chopsticks, looking thoughtful, not seeming to notice that Kakakshi had gone a shade close to green at the mention of Anko. "She's kinda bitchy, for him, though. Or," she swiveled again to look at the masked jounin, "is that how you prefer them?" She gave him a signature Uzumaki grin, sharing a conspiratorial wink with Teuchi.

"I know!" Kushina raised her chopsticks in triumph. "Shizune-chan! She's a bit jumpy, but _adorable_, Kakashi-kun! I'm sure Tsunade-hime would approve. You seem to be on her good side, though I'm not sure how."

"Eh..." Teuchi shook his head slightly and, glancing back at his daughter Ayame, who was engrossed in mixing broth behind him, whispered something to Kushina. She drew back in surprise, eyebrows to her hairline. "That Iruka kid? Really?" She gave a blat of uproarious laughter. "That's terrific! I could definitely see that—they're practically made for each other." Kushina lifted a few more noodles to her mouth, chewing thoughtfully. "So she's off-limits... Who else? What about Yuuhi Kurenai-chan? Is she still around?"

"Well... it's not official, but word around is that she and Sarutobi Asuma-san have something going on," Teuchi said knowingly.

"Really? Gee, niisan, you're better than a bartender for local gossip!"

Teuchi chuckled. "Well, to tell you the truth..." he glanced over his shoulder, noticed Ayame had gone into the back storeroom, and continued, "I'd only been keeping tabs lately for my Ayame's sake. She'd gotten a soft spot for Iruka-san, you know with him coming here all the time to feed that kid of yours. But he never gave Ayame the time of day. Not too quick to notice what's right in front of him," he sniffed, obviously offended on his daughter's behalf. "I hope Shizune-san knows how to handle that type. Anyway, I've been trying to think of who else would take her mind off of him..."

Kushina clunked her bowl of ramen down on the counter, a grin tugging the corners of her mouth. "Teuchi-niisan, I think the answer to both our problems is right here. Kakashi-kun and Ayame-chan! It's perfect! What do you say Kakashi-kun? Kakashi?"

The silver-haired jounin was nowhere in sight.


End file.
